Conventio Custodis
by Calex
Summary: Taine vowed she would never fall for another leather wearing, motorcycle riding bad boy. Little did she know that befriending the infamous Sons of Ipswich would see her break that promise, but also bring her to the attention of something far more sinister
1. Chapter 1

Title: Conventio Custodis (loose title. Open for suggestion, might be changed at a later date)

Author: Calex

Rating: 18

Disclaimer: Not mine. The Covenant belongs to… whoever it belongs to. Just playing with the characters, here.

A/N: Alright, my first attempt at writing a Covenant fic. Hope you guys enjoy.

There was something weird with Ipswich, Massachusetts. She'd known it ever since she first drove through the small town with its buildings that she didn't think existed out of TV shows with Sheriffs and festivals with pie eating contests, but apparently it did. It was such a mind trip to be in America after so long, and despite being open to new challenges and new things, she just couldn't help but be apprehensive about her parents' decision to move out of England and to America especially before her senior year.

Her family had moved around a lot due to the fact that her father's job at the Embassy, but she'd lived the first six years of her life in America, because of her mother. Danielle Graison-Crawford was an American heiress who'd lived in New York, where she'd met Reginald Crawford, the English Ambassador from London. They'd fallen in love, or so her mother had said, and they got married not a month after meeting. Danielle wanted her daughter to be close to her American roots so no matter where they moved, Taine had always been enrolled into an American school.

The past few years, her father had wanted to go back to his home, and they were lucky when that transfer in England had opened up. The Crawfords had moved back to London, where they had stayed until a few months ago, when Danielle had gotten a call from her mother to say that her father was ill. So they'd packed up and moved back to New York. Then they had transferred Taine to Spencer Academy in Ipswich of all places. _Ipswich_. What was up with that? There were plenty of good schools in New York, but Danielle had insisted. It was a good school, it had a good reputation of getting its students into Ivy Leagues. Then Grandfather Crawford had said that it was where he had been sent and that was that.

It wasn't that she _hated_ Spencer. She'd been there for two months, and it seemed okay. Well, aside from the dead kid in the woods after the party. God, she still got the shivers about that, it was so gruesome. Worse was because she _knew_ him. She wasn't stupid, she knew that violence and badness existed outside of newpapers, news and the movies, but it was another thing to have it close to you. He had been assigned as her Chemistry partner and sure, she didn't really know him that well, but he'd seemed like an okay guy. She'd started to get to know him and now he was _dead_. It fucked with the mind.

Then there was that fire thing at the Putnam Barn. What was up with that? And the other new kid, Chase Collins, had evidently disappeared. No one had seen him that night, and the scariest thing was that the last person he was around was Spencer's Golden Boy himself, Caleb Danvers. The whole situation was just so odd, and the weird thing was, Caleb didn't seem to be in trouble with the police or anything. It was so strange, she knew that if something like that happened in New York or London, Caleb would be in _big_ trouble. Maybe he had an alibi… but no. Rumour had it that it was Caleb that had called the fire department, and told them about a body. A body that was never found.

Not that it would ever affect her, of course. It wasn't like she made it a habit to talk to Caleb and his friends, the ones that everyone called the 'Sons of Ipswich'. Ultra rich, ultra cool, ultra popular and ultra hot. Aside from Caleb there was Pogue Parry, Reid Garwin and Tyler Simms. And she'd already found herself following in the footsteps of most of the girls of Spencer and drooling over the fantastic four. The one that especially caught her eye, though, was Pogue, though that was definitely something that had 'don't even _go_ there' written all over it, and it wasn't just because Pogue was already going out with someone. Oh no, the reason why she was so wary about Pogue Parry was that he reminded her of her ex-boyfriend.

That day, all she wanted to do was crawl into her bed and sleep. She had woken up later than usual and had missed breakfast and was lucky she got to class at all. As it was, she had been a minute late, and had been scolded by her Lit teacher, but thankfully he'd left her with a warning. Hardy was a complete stickler for the rules, and Taine knew she got off easy only because her record in class so far had been good, and because she'd aced her English entrance exam.

It didn't' get away from the fact that she had been brought to everyone's notice, though, and as she went climbed up the stairs to the only available seat, she noticed that a few people were shooting her sympathetic looks, or were just smirking at her misfortune. Taine just ignored them as she slumped into her seat, taking out her books and a notepad before pasting on a 'I'm ready and listening to everything you're saying with utmost concentration' look on her face. Hardy must've bought it, because he started the lesson shortly after.

Sighing, she slumped in her seat, twirling her pen absently between her fingers. God, she was tired. She'd been up late last night, chatting to her friends in England until the little hours of the morning. She'd finally crashed at about four and got up at seven fifty, leaving her ten minutes to get ready and get to her first class. It was _not_ going to be a good day, she just knew it. Forget having powers of looking into the future, she just knew it. It didn't take a psychic to realise that she would be in a complete zombie-like state in all of her classes, considering the fact that she had a pretty heavy work schedule in front of her.

"Late night?"

Taine turned to face the guy next to her, at the murmur by her ear. When she saw who it was, she let out a noise that sounded strangely like 'meep'. The guy smirked at her from his attractive mug. Oh god, oh god of all days she got saddled sitting next to Pogue Parry, Reid Garwin and Tyler Simms, it had to be the day that she _knew_ she looked like the Bride of Frankenstein. She groaned, but tried to play it cool, despite the fact that all she wanted to do was to hit her head repeatedly against the table, or for the floor to open up and swallow her whole. She shot him a weak smile as she tucked her hair behind her ear, effectively hiding her mouth from Hardy.

"You can say that again," she murmured back with a sigh. Pogue let out a little laugh at that.

"Pogue Parry."

"I know." She grinned at the surprised look on his face and bit back a laugh. "You shouldn't be surprised, you boys are hot news in Spencer."

"Yeah, well…" Cute. She swore that he looked embarrassed as he fiddled with his pen. "Lies, all lies."

"I'm sure that's not _completely_ true," she teased. "I'm Taine Crawford."

"Taine?" he asked, brow furrowed. She actually _did_ laugh, then, though she made sure she kept it low enough not to disturb anyone. Despite that, Reid Garwin and Tyler Simms turn around to look at her, and she swore that Reid raised an eyebrow at Pogue.

"Right, like Pogue is _so_ a normal name," she shot back, tone sarcastic. Then she tipped her head to the side, looking thoughtful. "Scottish, right? Meaning 'from the pool or pit'." At his look, she laughed again. "I like to know the meaning of names."

"So what, you know the meaning of _every_ name?" Reid asked sarcastically. She snorted, knowing that was a farfetched idea at best, and so did the boys. So she went for honesty.

"Of course not. I got curious so I did a little checking up. What?" she laughed again. "I wasn't kidding when I said that you guys are hot news. Besides, you have unusual names and after being saddled with the name Aurelia Taine, I wanted to know what the hell my parents were thinking."

"Aurelia Taine? Your first name is Aurelia?" Reid snorted. Taine half heartedly glared at him, because she knew that he was right.

"I _know_ that I sound like the reject cast of the Addams Family, alright? Hence why I go by Taine."

"So what does you name mean?" Tyler broke in awkwardly, obviously only asking because he wanted to diffuse the situation. She smiled at him in thanks.

"Aurelia from the Greek meaning 'Golden' and Taine from the Gaelic meaning 'River'. Golden River." She sighed. "My parents are a bit much. I suspect that my mother would've liked to be a hippie, but no doubt Grandfather Graison probably vetoed it. With great passion."

"So what does my name mean?" Reid challenged, smirking. Taine rolled her eyes, but steepled her fingers together, leaning her chin on her hands, staring thoughtfully into space. She knew the meaning, but she always made sure to get the wording right.

"Reid, from the Old English meaning 'near the reeds'," she said, finally. Then she smiled at Tyler. "And Tyler from the Old English meaning 'a worker in roof tiles'." At Reid's burst out laughter, Hardy turned around and frowned disapprovingly at them, and Reid smiled in mock apology.

"Mr. Garwin, something you'd like to discuss with the class?" the professor asked, icily. Reid shook his head.

"Sorry, Professor Hardy. Taine was just telling me about the book."

"It's a _play,_ Mr Garwin, not a book. AndI don't see that anything should be amusing about 'Hamlet'," the older man said, stiffly. And Reid shook his head in mock amazement.

"But what about when Hamlet was dumb enough to kill off his own girlfriend's old man? Dude's seriously whacked. We all know that isn't how we get the ladies." A few people laughed because, well, it was _Reid Garwin_, but Taine just rolled her eyes, though she had to admit that it was a good save. Professor Hardy sniffed.

"Well, if there are no more interruptions – "

"Nice save, Garwin," she murmured and he took a subtle bow which got her biting her cheek to keep from giggling. Pogue rolled his eyes, but he was hiding a smile as well, and Tyler just grinned at his best friend. But then he poked said best friend.

"What was with the laugh?"

"Man, the meaning of your name is _lame_."

"Like being called 'near the reeds' is _so_ much better."

"Children," Pogue intoned, rolling his eyes. Taine _did_ giggle then, though she made sure she kept it below Hardy's hearing range, especially as Reid mock-pouted at his best friend. Reid Garwin with his carefully cultivated bad boy image was _pouting_. It was too much. It made her miss her friends so badly, they all used to sit and joke around like that all the time, back in London.

"Sorry, mom," Reid said, sarcastically. At Hardy's glare, the four of them quietened and looked carefully studious, though Taine had to bite her lip to keep from grinning as she hastily scribbled something down in her notebook. Man, these guys were a complete trip.

"So, where're you from?" Pogue whispered from the corner of his mouth. "You're accent's different."

"Where _aren't_ I from." Taine snorted. "My family moves around a lot because of my father's work, but I hail from London, England, most recently."

"_London_?" His eyebrows hit his hairline, but he looked interested. "What was it like, studying there?"

"I went to an American school," she shrugged. "So the academic aspects are the same. But London is a cool place. I miss it," she admitted.

"Oh year? What did you do for fun?"

"What kids usually do," she laughed. "Hang out with my friends. Go down to the pub. Go bar hopping, clubbing. Watch movies."

"Clubbing? Bar hopping?" Reid asked, eyebrow raised. He paused to look her up and down exaggeratedly before smirking. "No offence, but you don't look like the rule breaker type." Taine almost snorted out loud at that. Not the rule breaker type, ay? But then again, he wouldn't know any better.

It wasn't likely that the three of them had ever noticed her outside of class, or even properly before today. And besides, she _had_ been keeping a low profile in Spencer, due to her parents' urgings. 'Just one year, then University and then you can do whatever you want to do', her mother had said. But hey, her pride was on the line. In England, no one would say it, to her face or otherwise. Then again, in England it was blatantly obvious that she wasn't the little miss goody-two-shoes that Reid apparently thought she was.

"Uh, Garwin, I know you're blond and all but there's this thing where _laws are different in different countries_." She raised her eyebrow at him. "In England I'm legal. The legal drinking age is eighteen. Though I wasn't when I first started out," she muttered quietly, but apparently not quietly enough because Pogue and Reid heard her as well.

"Wait, wait, wait. Little Taine Crawford's trying to say that she's a bad ass?" Reid just about died quietly laughing. "Whatever. You probably wouldn't know 'bad' if it bit you in the ass."

"I find it amusing that someone who so obviously doesn't know me can claim to know me better than I know myself," she said, tone slightly icy. Okay, pride was definitely on the line, here. Sure, she wasn't exactly _proud_ of the things she did, nor was she ashamed, but she'd once thought it was cool. Back in pre to early teens, that is.

"Fine." Reid challenged. "What's your favourite drink. Alcoholic only."

"Tequila," she said, easily. "Slammers. Lime, not lemon. Anything with tequila suits me just fine. But my favourite 'tequila' based cocktail would be a margarita. Nothing with blue curacau, though, that stuff makes me down. Weird, huh."

"Riight," Reid rolled his eyes. "How do I know you're not lying?"

"You can't," she laughed. "It's this little thing called _trust_. I'm sure you've heard it before. If you don't, I'm sure I can find a Websters somewhere…"

"Cute," Reid smirked. Then he turned to Pogue and Tyler, as though she wasn't even there. "I like her. She's got a smart mouth."

"Whatever, Garwin," she sighed, flipping him off. Pogue snickered quietly to himself as she casually flicked her eyes to her watch. Then her eyes widened. Ho-ly shit, was that actually the time? She better pay attention to Hardy.

"- and remember to turn in your assignments on Friday." Hardy finished. "Class dismissed."

"Oh my god," she quietly hyperventilated. "I just missed the whole lesson. Talking. With you guys. Oh my god."

"You say that a lot," Tyler offered, and she shot him a weak glare before moaning and dropping her head on the desk. Then she _did_ bang it a few times against the wood until Pogue laughingly cushioned her forehead with his hand.

"Hang in there," he teased. "I wouldn't want to have to carry you to the infirmary with a concussion." She snorted.

"Do you think that if I did get one, Hardy would lay off me about the assignment?" The four of them thought about it for awhile, then simultaneously said 'nah'.

"Hell," she sighed. "I'm going to have a great couple of days. Two days. _Two days_. And I haven't written any bloody notes on Hamlet. At all. _Fuck_."

"I thought you were Hardy's golden girl?" Tyler asked curiously, as they all packed up. Taine just groaned, running her hand over her face. What a joke. She was supposed to be, though. She was supposed to be this amazing English student that Hardy practically salivated over having. That was why he cut her some slack about coming late, that day. But in the past few days, she'd… well… hadn't really concentrated in class because she was talking to her friends in England online and god, everything was just so messed up. She told as much to the boys.

"I'm really behind in my other classes," she admitted, glumly. "I thought I'd finished off all my work and I wanted to just _relax_, but no, I had to forget about that stupid assignment."

"I'll lend you my notes," Tyler offered, shyly. She was surprised at this gesture, and seriously touched, and she guessed that it must've shown because Tyler started blushing a little. Taine grinned. She'd just made one of the Sons of Ipswich blush. Cool. Granted, it was Tyler, but still, major points!

"Thanks, Tyler," she said, gratefully. "That would be a big help."

"Aw, does babyman have a crush on the Golden River?" Reid teased, slinging his arm around Tyler's neck and messing up his hair. Tyler shoved his friend off of him and rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, man, you'd lend her your notes, too. You know, if you actually _made_ any."

"Thanks," Taine laughed. "But I wouldn't trust his notes, anyway." At Reid's affronted look, Taine just laughed harder. "Don't be so sensitive, Garwin. I just know what you're like in class, that's all."

"Hey, I might surprise you," he said, suggestively, and Taine snorted again. It was weird, she thought, as she grinned at Tyler and Pogue. Before the class, she'd have blushed if Reid Garwin said anything like that to her, but now she just laughed it off. The class had been a hell of a lot of fun, just joking around with the guys. They were seriously cool, not to mention funny.

Just then, a throat was cleared and Taine whirled around to see Caleb Danvers…except maybe whirling around wasn't such a good idea because she banged her elbow against the metal edge of a seat, which made her see stars. Pogue caught her as she tripped, and both of them fell into the desk. Pogue winced at the feel of the edge of the table banging against his side, but it was Taine that voiced her discomfort.

"Ow. Ow. And _ow_."

"Tell me about it," he muttered, as he steadied her, and then got up. His hand was pressing against his side, and Taine felt a flash of guilt for making him hurt, rubbing her elbow. She was surprised by the concern in Pogue's eyes as he looked her over. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I just hit my funny bone against the chair. What?" she protested, at his incredulous glare. "It hurts, alright. Shut up, Reid, it isn't funny."

"Oh yes it is, it really is," he guffawed. Then something happened. Pogue slapped him upside the head. Gently, but he still did it. Taine's eyes got wide as she looked at Pogue, but he was just looking at Reid with a raised eyebrow.

"Quit being obnoxious," he said, mildly, and Reid glared as he rubbed his head.

"Alright, already. Geez, man."

"Uh, thanks," she said, but he sounded unsure. He just smiled at her, then turned to Caleb, who stood there, watching the unfolding scene with a raised eyebrow and a slightly confused expression. Confused looked good on him, but then again, most anything looked good on Caleb. He was just one of those guys that would look good, even if he was drooling and drugged up on pain killers. Not a good look for anyone.

"Caleb, this is Taine Crawford. Taine, I'm sure you know Caleb."

"Of, yes," she said, as she offered her hand to him for a shake. He had a firm one, good. And god, that boyish smile was really something. It made her want to hug him. _Okay girl, get a grip_, she said, mentally. _You don't want to weird them out with your freakish displays of affection. Especially not to someone you haven't even talked to beyond the 'of, yes' of just now._

"Hello," he said, politely. "You're in Latin with us, right? And History."

"Yeah."

"Hey, what does his name mean?" Reid asked, eagerly. Pogue and Tyler looked interested, too, and Caleb just looked even more confused.

"My name? Why would she know what my name means?"

"Taine's interested in that kind of thing," Pogue informed him. "She told us what our names meant."

"It's Hebrew," she said, quietly. "For dog." Reid just about died laughing. Again. Even Tyler and Pogue couldn't help themselves. "Seriously, I'm not making this up."

"Caleb's a dog's name?" Reid was snickering. Taine sighed and punched him lightly on the shoulder. "What? I'm not allowed to make fun of his name, now? _Taine_," he whined.

"In the Old Testament Caleb is the name of one of the twelve spies sent by Moses into Israel. Of the Israelites who left Egypt with Moses, Caleb and Joshua were the only ones who lived to see the promised land," Taine explained. Caleb, Pogue and Tyler looked impressed by her knowledge, but Reid was still snickering to herself. "Reid, stop it."

"What is it with people today?" Reid complained. "Can't a guy do anything without being lectured? Geez."

"Whatever, Garwin."

"Careful, Crawford, you're starting to sound like a broken record. _Whatever, Garwin_," he imitated in a falsetto, batting his eyelashes. Taine laughed at his antics as the five walked out of the classroom. Outside, seemingly waiting for them was a blonde. Caleb's girlfriend, she noted, Sarah Wenham. The other girl smiled at Taine.

"Hey," she said, tone friendly. "Taine Crawford, right?"

"Yeah. And you're Sarah Wenham."

"That's right," she grinned at Taine, as she looked at the guys who were joking around behind her. Caleb slipped around his friends to make his way next to his girlfriend, kissing her softly, then wrapping his arm around her waist.

"Bet sitting with those guys made you completely distracted during class, right?" she grinned as she said this, and Taine couldn't help but laugh.

"Got it in one. But Tyler's saved my life and said he'd lend me his notes."

"Oh yeah," Tyler said, as he swung his backpack forwards and started rummaging through it. Finally, he pulled out a black folder and took out a few pages. "There's the notes."

"Thanks, Tyler," she said again, kissing his cheek. And proceeded to make the quiet boy blush twice in the space of five minutes. Which only served to make Reid tease him about having a crush on her. Again. The six of them walked towards their next class, which they all had together, again. Something wasn't quite right, though. She was sure that there was something missing… Oh yeah. Wasn't Kate Tunney in their English class as well? She voiced her question to the group, and was confused by the tension that her innocent question wrought. Pogue especially looked stony faced, and Sarah seemed uncomfortable.

"She had to uh, get to her next class," Sarah mumbled, and if it was even possible, Pogue's face got stonier. Taine suddenly got an inkling of what might've possibly happened. Uh oh. Pogue and Kate couldn't possibly be over, could they? Hell, how had this _not_ made gossip already? She was embarrassed by the _faux pas_ and tried to break tension by making light conversation.

"So, History with Professor Blackthorne. Anyone got any coffee?" The laugh that her comment generated eased the mood somewhat, and made her sigh in relief. Obstacle one overcome. She really needed to be careful, though. And it seemed that Pogue's good cheer was a bit forced. Their conversation carried on in that casual tone until they got to class.

* * *

"So what do you think about Taine?" Reid asked, as he prepared for his next shot. They were hanging out in Nicky's that night. Reid, Tyler and Pogue were hanging out by the pool table while Caleb danced with Sarah. Reid's eyes narrowed as he shot, watching as red ball went into the corner pocket.

"She's nice," Tyler offered, sipping from a beer bottle. "I like her."

"We know you do, Tyler," Reid teased, and Tyler rolled his eyes. Reid had been going on and on about Tyler's apparent crush on Taine, and he was getting a little sick of it. He knew he should just ignore it, as Reid would take his denial as further proof, but he did feel the need to defend himself.

"I don't like her like that. She's nice in a friend sort of way, you know?"

"She's hot," Pogue commented, and watched as Reid overshot, and the white sailed into the pocket. Ignoring Reid's curse, Pogue grabbed the white and lined it up for his shot. "Funny."

"I knew it," Reid crowed. "I thought you were being a little too attentive."

"Whatever, man," Pogue rolled his eyes, watching as two stripes made it into the side pocket. He grinned. Perfect shot. "Just because I think she's hot doesn't mean I'm into her."

"Really? So you'd have absolutely no problem if I asked her out?" Reid watched in satisfaction as Pogue's shot went awry. He smirked as he took his place, watching the solids. "Oh yeah, definitely not into her."

"Shut up," Pogue muttered. But he knew it was weak. Truth was, yeah, she'd caught his notice. When she'd dropped into the chair next to him, he knew she didn't even notice who she was sitting next to. She'd looked so exhausted, but it still didn't detract from that fact that she was pretty. Even with dark circles under her eyes, her shirt buttoned wrong and hanging a little out of her skirt, she was hot. Taine had that whole exotic thing going for her, which everyone knew was his type. Look at Kate. But that was exactly why he didn't want to be into Taine. He'd just broken up with Kate the night before, and he felt it was somewhat disrespectful to her if he immediately went for another girl.

It was just fate, though, that Taine had to sit next to them and he'd have to notice her. Sure, he'd kinda noticed her before, what with her being in a lot of his classes, but he'd never really talked to her before. And he genuinely did like her. She was funny, like he'd said. Nice. Smart. Mouthy. Hell was she mouthy, but he liked that about her. He liked that she was sarcastic and dry and quick with her comebacks. He liked the fact that she could take teasing on her part with a shrug and a laugh.

Then there was Reid. He might've been acting like he was joking about asking Taine out, but Pogue had been watching him in English with her, and it looked like he was into her as well. And she and Reid seemed to get along in a scary kind of way. He had been completely distracted by her that day, she'd sat with them in all of their classes, since they went there together, and he just started noticing a hell of a lot of things about her that he liked.

Like the way she bit her lip when she was thinking, and how serious her grey eyes got when she was listening to their professors. The way that one lock of dark hair would always fall into her eyes and she'd brush it away absentmindedly as she wrote. Her laugh was like a punch in the gut, all low and husky. There were a hell of a lot of things about Taine Crawford that he'd discovered he liked, and it bothered him.

_Just rebound, Pogue, get a grip on yourself_, he told himself, sternly as he moved to take his turn. _It's too soon after Kate, you're probably just missing having a girl. Just leave it._ Yeah, that had to be it. Rebound, nothing more. He breathed out a sigh of relief as he took his shot, got it in and moved for the next one. He felt immediately better at that realisation. Sure, Taine was hot, but he just noticed her because he missed Kate. Feeling much more cheerful after that, and after pocketing Reid's twenty (which the blond had given over with reluctance), Pogue went over to the bar to order when he stopped. Because she was there, leaning over the bar so that an inch of pale gold skin showed over her snug, faded low rise blue jeans.

_Rebound feelings_, he repeated to himself, but a small part of him realised that it would take a lot of effort to remind himself of that, especially as she turned around when she caught sight of him and her flashed him a huge megawatt smile. _Just rebound feelings_.

* * *

Taine handed Nicky a twenty, then stepped back from the bar. It was nine o'clock and she was treating herself to some out-of-school time for finishing Hardy's essay in record time. Tyler's notes really _had_ been a godsend. She had to hand it to the guy, Tyler wrote clear, concise notes. It had been so much help while she sweated out writing the essay. Three hours on the damn thing, which she'd gotten started on right after school, then she'd taken a bath and realised she had too much adrenalin pumping through her to sleep. So she decided to find the local bar that the other students frequented, Nicky's.

She had taken a bit of time getting ready. She knew that it was highly likely that the boys would be there, that night, since it was supposed to be one of their favourite hangout spots, and she felt that it was a point of pride to prove to Reid that she wasn't as much of a goody-two-shoes as he thought she was. Okay, there was also the fact that she wanted to look hot, just in case she bumped into them. It wasn't a crime, any girl would feel the same if they were in her situation. They all looked Hollywood worthy, and no one wanted to be the runt in the litter.

But there was the other side of the coin to that. She didn't want to seem to be trying _too_ hard. She needed to settle for naturally hot, or at least hot-with-little-effort. So she put on a pair of snug, faded jeans, pulled on a moss green corset-style tank top with a low, scooped neckline. For shoes, she pulled on a pair of scuffed black combat boots, pulled her hair into a ponytail and put on the lightest touch of makeup before she walked out towards the parking lot.

Nicky's was… nice. It had lots of atmosphere. There were pool tables and foosball tables and a dance floor with people writhing to music that came out from a jukebox. She'd grinned when she saw the place and decided that it was her new favourite hangout spot and went to order some food when she noticed Pogue, Reid and Tyler by one of the pool tables. She'd grinned, and had to fight off the butterflies that clamoured in her stomach. It was stupid, she was perfectly fine with them earlier, but just the thought of being able to hang out with them now made her feel so unbelievably nervous. So she'd gone to the bar. But when she finished and saw Pogue looking at her…well. She smiled.

_God, he's gorgeous_, she thought, hazily. _There should be laws against people being that hot. He should have 'Danger: Can cause spontaneous combustion' tattooed on his forehead. _But she'd forced herself to keep calm when he answered her smile with that gorgeous half-smile of his and walked over to her. _Okay, Crawford, calm down. It's just Pogue, the guy you were hanging out with all day. There's absolutely no reason to be nervous._

"Taine," he said, and she almost shivered. His voice was lethal. She had a thing for low, husky voices and Pogue's fit the bill all too well. _No_, she told herself sternly as she realised where that train of thought was going._ No checking out of Pogue, no crushing on him, nada. You've already gone for the leather-wearing, husky voiced, motorcycle riding bad boy and guess what? He broke your heart. Don't even go there. _'But Pogue isn't Søren…'_. Not even, don't go there._

"Hey, Pogue," she said, casually. She flicked a glance at the pool table to find Reid's gaze zeroed in on her and she smiled, waving at him. He smirked and elbowed Tyler who was taking a shot. Tyler shot him an annoyed look as his shot went off, but followed his gaze to her. When he saw her, he beamed. Tyler was such a sweet kid. Then she turned back towards Pogue. "What're you doing here?"

"Hanging out," he shrugged. "We come to Nicky's a lot."

"You do?" She wasn't sure how she kept her face straight as she said that. Like she didn't know that before. Pogue's sideways glance at her told her that he knew as well as she did that it was common knowledge. "I guessed. I'd hoped I would see you guys here."

"Really?"

"Yeah," she smiled at him. "You made my sucky, would-be-zombie-like day more bearable. I'd had fun."

"Me too," he murmured. Taine wasn't too sure, but she could've sworn that he didn't sound all that happy with it. But she just shrugged it off, mentally. "How's the English essay?"

"Done and dusted," she said, with complete satisfaction. "That means that I have a free and open weekend. Thank God. If I didn't, I would've screamed and committed murder or something." He laughed.

"Lucky for us that you did, huh? Listen, you want to grab a table? Reid and Tyler look like they're almost finishing up."

"Sure," she said, grinning. Score. A table with the Sons of Ipswich, who would've thought that she'd be there right now? And all because she didn't have enough sleep and was late to English class. Maybe the fates were kind, after all. Then she looked around. "Where's Caleb?"

"Dancing with Sarah," he said, as he called Nicky over. Nicky nodded and a little while later Pogue ordered, and the two of them talked genially while they waited for their food. When it came, Pogue gestured for Reid and Tyler to come with after they finished their game, then went to find a free table. Snagging one as a couple got up to leave, Pogue looked around the room for his other two friends. He tried not to frown as he saw his best friend slow dancing with his girlfriend, even though the music war far too upbeat for slow dancing. He couldn't help the stab of envy that went through him at the sight. He almost jumped when he felt Taine's hand on his arm, and when he looked at her, he saw her eyes filled with compassion.

"You okay?" she asked, quietly. He nodded, then sighed and shrugged.

"I don't know," he answered truthfully. "But I think I'll live. You know?"

"Yeah," she sighed as well, turning away. "Too well." He raised an eyebrow at that.

"Boyfriend problems?"

"Not anymore," she replied, dryly. "We broke up."

"Sorry."

"It was way past time," she admitted, picking up her drink for a sip. Pogue took that as a sign to drop the subject when Reid and Tyler plopped down on the seats around them. Tyler said a soft greeting to her, which she returned, and Reid turned his chair around before straddling it, resting his chin on the back. He grinned at her.

"Well, I guess I'm going to have to believe you after all," he drawled, checking her out. Pogue fought an irrational sense of irritation at Reid's blatant flirting, and his friend's sideways smirk to him told him that Reid was very aware of the fact that Pogue wasn't all that happy with him. Taine, thankfully, seemed oblivious and chatted to Reid. Soon enough, Pogue relaxed and once again they began joking around like in Hardy's class, laughing and playing around.

A while later, Caleb and Sarah appeared, flushed, and Caleb looked surprised at the addition of Taine to their group, but welcomed her with a warm smile. Sarah hugged her and the two girls launched into conversation which just served to baffle the guys. Pogue leaned back in his chair, sipping from his beer and grinning as Reid and Taine got into a minor scuffle over her last fry. He was going to just enjoy himself and forget his problems. He deserved that, right? Just one night of being a normal guy with his friends. Then his eyes went to the door and he froze. Kate. And… Aaron Abbott?

_tbc..._


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Conventio Custodis

Author: Calex

Rating: 18-ish

Disclaimer: Not mine. The Covenant belongs to its creators etc. I just own whatever you don't recognize. Neither does the song, 'My Sharona', by The Knack.

Taine looked up when Pogue tensed. When she followed his gaze towards the entrance, she sucked in a breath. Her reaction was a little more obvious than Pogue's so Reid, then Tyler, looked as well. When Reid let out a low whistle, Caleb and Sarah turned to look at what their friends were looking at in curiosity. What they saw mad Sarah pale, and then look worriedly at Pogue, as did Caleb. But Pogue… Pogue was completely still in his chair, like he was a statue. The only sense that he was even remotely not at ease about the situation (apart from the unnatural stillness, of course) was the white knuckled grip he had on his glass. Taine didn't even think, she just automatically went for his wrist, squeezing gently in warning. It was enough to make him snap out of it, so that he loosened his grip, and he looked away.

Taine couldn't believe the nerve of Kate, going to a place that she _knew_ her ex always went to. But then again, there wasn't really anywhere else she could've gone. Nicky's was a really popular hangout spot, after all. But still, and with a guy that was renowned as the Sons of Ipswich's rival. That was pretty damn low. That was about the time when Kate noticed their presence – and the presence of Taine's hand on Pogue's wrist. She dropped her hand quickly in her lap.

"Son of a _bitch_," Reid hissed, eyes locked on Aaron's face. His hands were clenching and unclenching and his eyes were hard. Tyler looked at him worriedly, then at Caleb, Pogue and then at Kate and Aaron. Then he went back to Reid. Even Sarah looked worried. Caleb levelled a glance at Reid, looking pointedly at his fists.

"_Reid_."

"Do you not _see_ this, Caleb?" Reid demanded, eyes flashing. "Aaron's got Kate. _Aaron_. This ass whoopin' has been a long time coming."

"I don't understand," Sarah whispered. "_She_ told _me_ that Aaron was a first class jerk to women. Why is she with him?"

"Jealousy, pity, friendship, revenge. She's had a change of heart and thinks he's a great guy… who knows?" Taine shrugged. "But my bet would be on revenge."

"Revenge for what?" Pogue finally spoke, his voice quiet enough that they had to strain to hear him over the music and chatter. "_She_ broke up with me."

"Son of a – " Reid started swearing again, but Taine clapped a hand over his mouth, glaring at him. Now was _not_ the time. She turned her attention back to Pogue, ignoring Reid's attempt to get her hand off his mouth. She was stronger than she looked and short of licking her palm, it was _not_ going off his mouth.

"We don't have to stay here," she said quietly to him. "We can just walk out if you want to. It would be understandable."

"I – " Her heart broke just a little at the insecurity that appeared in his eyes before he squashed it down. He took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders. "I don't want to give them the pleasure of seeing me run."

"Good boy," she murmured, squeezing his arm gently. Pogue smiled weakly at her and she felt the butterflies doing somersaults in her stomach again. She shared a look with Sarah before the blonde girl jumped up as did she. They smiled at the boys.

"Be right back," they chorused, then laughed. Then they made their way to the jukebox. They were of one mind, that night: to have fun. To help Pogue get his mind off the fact that his recently ex-girlfriend was with his rival. They went through the selection when she spotted the song. Not exactly the sexiest dance song ever, but it was upbeat and it never failed to make her smile and want to dance along.

"My Sharona or Living on a Prayer?" she asked Sarah. Sarah looked thoughtful, chewing her lip as she looked over to their table.

"My Sharona's more danceable," Sarah decided. The girls looked at each other, then nodded. Taine produced the quarter and punched in their selection. When the first strains of My Sharona came up, they practically skipped back to their table. "Come on," Sarah said, laughing, as she pulled Caleb to his feet. He laughed at his girlfriend but followed, knowing better than to refuse her. Taine walked up to Pogue and grinned down at him.

"Dance with me?" she asked, as the verse started. He was going to refuse, he really was, but then she looked at him pleadingly with that half smile on her face and he couldn't say no. So he smiled weakly and let her pull him to his feet and onto the dance floor. She turned to face him, a grin splitting her face as she mouthed along with the song.

_Ooh my little pretty one, pretty one.  
When you gonna give me some time, Sharona?  
Ooh you make my motor run, my motor run.  
Gun it comin' off the line Sharona_

She wrapped a hand behind his neck and pulled their bodies close. Really close. His hands settled on her hips, not really knowing where else to put them, but then she moved. She led one his hands to the small of her back, then that hand that lead him traced up to his arm. Pogue couldn't help it, he lost himself in the music, in her. He heard her husky laugh in his ear, felt her body brushing against his, felt her breath against his neck and he danced. He who had never danced with Kate while they were going out danced with this girl who had asked him with such hope in her eyes. And weirdest yet, he was having _fun_.

He laughed as she pulled away from him slightly, her hand on his shoulder as she moved sinuously around him, singing the bridge and chorus right in his ear, her arm snaking around his waist as she danced with him, pressed against his back.

_Never gonna stop, give it up.  
Such a dirty mind. Always get it up for the touch  
of the younger kind. My my my i yi woo. M M M My Sharona..._

Pogue surprised her by turning around and grabbing her by the hips, before pulling her into his arms in a very traditional waltzing position. She looked at him questioningly, but he just grinned at her, seeming to wait for something. Then he led her in the dance. And they were waltzing, _waltzing_ to My Sharona. Taine shook her head, laughing but the butterflies were in full force in her stomach. Dancing was so dangerous, she knew that. Flirting was a game, for fun. Something that could be harmless. But she'd always held on to one belief and that was dancing… dancing was foreplay. Done right and, well… instant Taine puddle coming right up!

She'd never thought she'd react like this to dancing with him, though. All she'd thought about was that she needed to get his mind off Kate and she'd done it the easiest way she knew. They danced. But oh god, he had weapons of his own. There was something about waltzing to a tune that did not ask for waltzing that made it… spectacular. People had turned around to look at them as he twirled her elegantly, somehow managing to keep to the beat. Her eyes caught Sarah and Caleb watching, laughing and she stuck her tongue out at them. Childish, maybe. Did she care? Not as long as Pogue kept dancing with her like that.

_Come a little closer huh, ah will ya huh.  
Close enough to look in my eyes, Sharona.  
Keeping it a mystery gets to me  
Running down the length of my thighs, Sharona_

They sang the next verse into each others faces, belting out fun and pure suggestion. Both had purred at the last line and Pogue pulled her into him, close. One of his hands was splayed on her back, somehow getting under her top to touch bare skin. Where his hand touched felt warm, tingling, the kind that spread across her body. His other hand was clasped in hers still, but now their position was more of a salsa. She decided to surprise him by pushing a little away.

_Never gonna stop, give it up. Such a dirty mind.  
Always get it up for the touch  
of the younger kind. My my my i yi woo. M M M My Sharona..._

With a wicked grin, she kept just the tips of her fingers on his chest before shimmying down, fingers trailing. They stopped at the dangerous spot of just above his belt buckle. She felt his skin twitching where she touched, and she smiled as she shimmied back up. He took her hand, twirled her and pulled her into his arms again, back pressed against his front. A reversal of roles from their previous position. Now one of his hands was splayed on her stomach and she threw an arm behind her to hook behind his neck. His other hand followed hers, twining their fingers together. They just swayed to the music.

But god, he got her hot. He got her _really_ hot. The boy could dance, could _really_ dance, and she knew how rare that was. Most guys with a cultivated bad-boy image couldn't dance for shit, but Pogue… Pogue wowed them all. She saw Tyler slack jawed and Reid with both eyebrows at his hairline as he danced nearby.

_When you gonna give it to me, give it to me.  
It is just a matter of time Sharona  
Is it just destiny, destiny?  
Or is it just a game in my mind, Sharona?_

_Never gonna stop, give it up.  
Such a dirty mind. Always get it up for the touch  
of the younger kind. My my my i yi woo. M M M My Sharona..._

The last verse saw him spinning her out before catching her hips again, dancing as they had first started out. They were belting out the words to each other, laughing at the end of the chorus, but they just kept on dancing. It was just wonderful, exactly what Pogue needed. She had never seen him so relaxed as he did just then, dancing. One of his hands was cradling the back of her neck, fingers threading through the hair at the base of her scalp. He had amazing man hands, she thought, hazily, as she leaned in and rubbed her cheek against his shirt. He seemed to accept that, except he then tensed up and so did she. She pulled away reluctantly. He was completely tense.

"Sorry, I didn't – "

"Pogue."

Taine swore. Of course, Kate. She had completely forgotten. In her fun with Pogue, she had completely forgotten the reason why they had begun dancing in the first place. She hadn't been looking and now Kate and Aaron were almost right next to them. She shivered in revulsion as she saw Aaron's eyes boldly traced over her body.

"Kate," he acknowledged, nodding slightly. His voice was so aloof, so distant. Taine couldn't help but tense up in his arms, and he absentmindedly ran a hand over her back. Kate saw the gesture and looked a little hurt. Then she looked angry. Finally, the flit of emotions on her face settled on blank. But the smile she shot Taine's way was sharp as a knife.

"I don't think we've met."

"No," Taine agreed, softly. She disentangled herself a little bit from Pogue and offered the other girl her hand. "Taine Crawford."

"Kate Tunney. You're new, right?"

"That's right. I transferred here at the beginning of the term." Pogue shot her a sideways look, and although she chose to ignore it, she knew exactly what that look meant. Her accent, predominantly British, always thickened when her emotions went haywire. At that moment, she was going to bet mortification, guilt, embarrassment and anger on Pogue's behalf was the reason to why she turned into Frosty the Snowman. With an accent like Rupert Giles on his most starchy, stiff upper lip British. But Pogue couldn't have figured out about that, yet. She only really knew him a day. Then again, there had been quite a few occasions in the day that required her to go British.

By that time, they'd drawn some attention. Namely, from the rest of the Sons of Ipswich, not to mention the rest of the Spencer students in Nicky's. Taine took one look at the situation, and made a decision. She grabbed Pogue's hand, threw a cheerful smile at Aaron and Kate, then tugged him forward, motioning for Tyler to throw them their jackets as they moved towards the entrance, going past their table.

"Uh, nice to see you guys but Pogue and I need to be…somewhere."

"Huh?" Pogue looked confused, and she fought to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Boy, seeing Kate sure messed with his mind.

"You know, that thing you were going to show me."

"The…thing?"

"Yes," she hissed. "That _thing_." Understanding dawned in his eyes, and a smirk spread over his face. He threw a careless wave at the dumbfounded Kate and Aaron. To Taine's surprise, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close.

"Right, that… _thing_," he purred. He grabbed his jacket as Tyler threw it to him and saluted his friend. "Bye."

"C'mon, let's blow this popsicle stand." She muttered. At his sideways glance, she blushed. "Sorry, I've just always wanted to say that."

"You're one weird kid," he said, bursting into laughter. She pouted, but couldn't help the grin that tugged at the corner of her mouth. Finally, she laughed along with him, surprising him by pulling him along by the hand. By the time they left Nicky's, Pogue had completely relaxed. He walked over to his Ducati and threw her the extra helmet. She caught it by pure reflex, looking at it in confusion, before turning her attention back to Pogue.

"What's this for?"

"You ever been on a bike?" he asked, easily. Her face and her good mood fell, just like that. It was like the question had completely flipped a switch. Of course, Pogue would have no idea, no idea why it would make her act like that. He looked so confused as she stared at the helmet in her hands. She looked up and shook her head.

"Thanks, but… I can't."

"Can't or won't?" he challenged, raising a brow. Taine's jaw was working tightly and she looked away, refusing to look at him. He prodded her. "It's won't, right? Don't tell me you're scared."

"I'm not scared," she snapped. Then she immediately looked contrite, releasing a breath and running her fingers through her hair. "Look, I'm sorry. I just… I can't, Pogue. Not yet, it's too soon."

"Hey," he said, gently. He walked over to her and laid his hand on her cheek. "Are you okay? It's okay to be scared, you know. Especially if you've been in an accident, or know someone who has. No one's going to look down on you because of that."

"I'm not scared," she repeated, her eyes glinting dangerously. "If you must know, I've ridden on a bike. A lot. Because of my boyfriend, you know, the one I just broke up with. So forgive me if riding on a motorcycle has bad connotations to me."

"You shouldn't let something like that ruin the experience for you," he chided gently. Then he flashed her a grin. "Come on, Taine. Please. Let me give you a good memory. You shouldn't hate bikes just because of an asshole ex-boyfriend."

"Spoken like a true bike-lover," she said, but she laughed. She sighed again. She was so tempted to just say yes and take a ride with him. So tempted. He was right, she shouldn't let Søren ruin things for her, but it wasn't just that. There were so many things. And the wound of breaking up with him was still too fresh. She'd loved Søren, a lot, and Søren… he and bikes just went together. He loved them. Then she remembered something else, and laughed at her own stupidity. "I can't, anyway. I brought my car."

"So?" Pogue shrugged. "You can leave it here and I'll drive you back after school tomorrow to pick it up. Or," he continued, cutting her off before she could decline. "We can ask Reid to drive it back. You he stays in the dorms like you, after all."

"Pogue…" she bit her lip, looking unsure about the bike. Torn. Part of her wanted to, wanted to a lot. All the time with Søren, she had loved taking rides with him on his bike. It was freedom. She understood why he loved the so much. But the other side of her was screaming for her car. Her baby. Her vintage Jag convertible that she'd had to twist her father's arm to get. Major guilt tripping had to be used to get her baby, and to let _Reid_ drive it? It gave her the shivers. "Pogue, my _car_."

"Relax," he laughed. "It's not a baby. And despite what he looks like, Reid's a really good driver. He's the best driver out of all of us, to be honest. Tyler's the safest, but Reid? He's something."

"I just…" she looked torn. Her eyes travelled to her car, just lying there waiting for her, all shiny and loved and _expensive_. He followed her gaze, and let out a whistle, his eyes widened in disbelief and admiration.

"_That's_ your car?"

"That's my baby," she said, proudly. "1956 Jaguar Roadster. I call him Sebastian."

"You bought a car out of Cruel Intentions, and named it after the character who owns it in the movie?" Pogue said in disbelief. Taine found herself blushing under his gaze, and fidgeted, picking a nonexistent piece of lint off her jeans. Pogue's low laugh made her snap her head up, and she saw him shaking his head. To her surprise, he gave her a quick hug. "Man, Crawford. You really are a trip."

"Yeah, well," she muttered. Then she looked at it again, biting her lip. "You _sure_ that Reid won't trash him?"

"Promise," he said, solemnly, though his eyes were laughing. "You know, most people refer to their cars as 'she'. Not you, though. Always original."

"Correction," she said, haughtily. "Most _men_ refer to their cars as female. Why should I call a penis mobile anything but a he?" Pogue just started laughing. She felt her lips twitching, but it was true! There was a reason why they were called penis mobiles, after all, and while hers might not be the stereotypical sports car in cherry red, it was still a penis mobile. The car had mid-life crisis written all over it. But it was the distinguished gentleman's mid-life crisis. The car called for drinking port and smoking cigars, she'd always thought, and that was one of the reasons why she loved it so much. He slung his arm around her shoulders.

"Come on, hand over your keys. At this rate, our ride's going to be a short one." With grumbling on her part, she tossed him the keys to her car, then yelped as she found herself being dragged along with him back into Nicky's. When he spotted Reid, he grinned. "Yo Garwin!"

"Didn't you leave already?" Reid asked, eyebrow raised. The eyebrow got higher as he saw the comfortable way Pogue's arm rested around her shoulders. Actually, Reid wasn't the only one. Tyler noted it. So did Caleb and Sarah. More importantly, _Kate_ noted it. Pogue didn't notice, or at least he did a very good job of pretending that he didn't. He just smirked at Reid.

"I'm giving a ride to the lady. Do us a favour and drive her car back to the dorms, okay? It's the dark green 1956 Jaguar Roadster." He tossed Reid the keys, and Reid caught them in pure reflex as he stared at Taine in disbelief.

"You own a 1956 Roadster?"

"It's out back, next to Caleb's Mustang. It's a hot ride," Pogue said, grinning. A slow smirk spread across Reid's face, and Taine had an awful sense of foreboding.

"Don't hurt my car," she ordered him. "I expect to see him in the exact same condition I saw him last. Not one scratch or dent or _anything_. I mean it, Garwin. And I _will_ know."

"You worry too much," he said, dismissively. Then he cocked his head to the side. "Dude, did you just refer to your car as _he_?" Taine blushed and this time she dragged Pogue out of Nicky's. But before they stepped out, she turned back again.

"Don't hurt my car!" Pogue laughingly pulled her out before she could start again.

* * *

This time when Pogue handed her the helmet, Taine put it on. Although she did pull a face beforehand, and when she did do so, she let out a heartfelt sigh. Then she carefully got on the back of Pogue, wrapping her arms gingerly around her waist. He turned around and shot her a grin at the gentle action as he gunned the engine.

"You're going to have to hold on a little tighter than that," he said, smirking. Before she could ask why, they took off. Fast. Taine let out a shriek, but tightened her grip on him in reflex. Oh he was _so_ going to get it for pulling that stunt. In response, she held on tight enough that she knew breathing would be an issue for him… and trusted him to be good enough to not crash the two of them. He was. He let out a grunt loud enough that she heard him through the helmet, the roaring engine, the wind tearing at them and the roaring in her own ears. "If you don't ease up, I'm going to end up crashing both of us." With a smirk, she did as he said and loosened her grip enough that she was secure and he could breathe. Which he did, sucking in air greedily before he actually had the gall to turn around to glare at her. "Brat."

"Watch the road!" she shouted, her grip tightening once more. Pogue grunted, but turned around for safety's sake… or at least to prevent him from killing them in their wild ride. Then she figuratively sat back and enjoyed herself as they burnt rubber. Taine let out a delighted laugh as they sped through the long roads of Ipswich, just enjoying the night and the speed, the freedom, the underlying sense of danger and just the peace of the moment, away from troubles. Away from Pogue's breakup with Kate and her presence at Nicky's with Aaron, away from Taine's painful memories of Søren until it was just them. Just him and her enjoying a night ride out on his bike. Finally, after what seemed like forever and just not long enough, they pulled into the school and Pogue let the engine idle. Taine got up on legs that were embarrassingly shaky and let out a low laugh as she pulled the helmet off. Pogue just stayed on the bike, grinning at her.

"Did that help you enjoy rides on a bike again?" he teased and she laughed once more, punching him playfully on the arm.

"You know it did," she said, grinning. Sighing happily, she ran her fingers through her hair only to realise that her hair had escaped from the ponytail she had pulled it into earlier that night. Laughing once more, she shook her head, so that her long dark hair fell out of her face. She was laughing again, but one look at Pogue's face had that laughter dying in her throat. He looked so serious, his light eyes darkened in the night and with something she couldn't name. He lifted a hand to pick up a strand of glossy hair, his thumb running gently over it.

"So soft," he murmured. "I knew it would be. You should wear your hair down more often, it suits you."

"I – " Her mouth felt dry. The air felt strangely charged, now, and she just didn't know what to say. He was sitting there on his bike, all gorgeous and hair mussed by the helmet, his eyes dark and serious on her face. He had such beautiful eyes, so intense that it sometimes seemed that he was looking straight through you. She had always thought that Pogue could probably freeze someone with just a look of those eyes. To have them focused on her was startling and just a little unsettling.

"You helped me out, today," he continued, voice still in that murmur, so distracted even while his eyes remained so _focused_ on her. "With Kate. Talking, dancing. Taking that ride. I needed it, so much even though I didn't realise it. I was drowning and I wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't been there to pull me out."

Her heart was beating so loudly that she wondered dazedly if he could hear it. God, did he even realise the power of his words? She felt a little bit drowned herself, in _him_. The wind carried his scent with it: of light sweat, grease, a cologne that made her head dazed and her knees weak. He carried with him the scent of the wind, of change, and it was such a heady combination and just so _him_ that she felt herself immersed so immersed in it that she couldn't find it in herself to care. Passive suicide, that was what he was to her. At that moment. Then he smiled, his hand trailing to brush the back of his fingers against her cheek, just a slight caress that got her heat skipping.

"What are you doing?" she asked, shakily, and that seemed to be enough to snap him out of whatever mood he was in. She watched in a mixture of relief and disappointment as he withdrew into himself once again and she was left with not even the mystery of what he was feeling. He shrugged slightly as he began to pull on the helmet.

"I don't know. I started out to thank you."

"Oh," she swallowed. "Uh, it was nothing. Really. You kind of did already with the talking of you and drowning and me pulling you out and…" She stopped herself, blushing in mortification as she realised that she had been on the track to rambling horribly. But it did do the trick of relaxing him again, and he smiled that gorgeous half smile before pulling the helmet completely on.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Taine."

"Yeah…" she said, softly. "Tomorrow." As he started pulling away, she found herself with the impulse of stopping him, just a little while. "Hey Pogue?" He turned to look at her, a questioning look on his face. "Thanks too, you know. For the ride. And… and everything. I had fun."

"Me too."

And with that, he peeled out, speeding away from the school and away from her. Taine took a moment to think about things, just a little. She sighed as she thought of the whole evening. It was just so strange. She'd set out to Nicky's just hoping for a little bit of fun and hopefully hanging out with the boys again and sure, she'd got that. But then there was the appearance of Kate, dancing with Pogue, the ride on his bike, the scene that just happened… She sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair, letting out a groan of discontent. So much for not 'going there' with Pogue. She smiled wryly as she pressed her hand against her stomach, feeling the butterflies swarming around. Big ones, bat sized butterflies that went crazy when she thought about him, about his eyes, about the rough, low murmur of his voice and the heat of his fingers against her cheek. Oh yeah, she knew exactly where this was heading, knew that that night was just a one way ticket towards Crushville… but she couldn't help it. There was something about him that drew her in. And it seemed that she was a complete masochist after all.

With a last look at where he left, she turned back and started for the dorms. A prickling at the back of her neck made her pause and turn around, but at seeing nothing, she just shrugged and started walking once again. Weird. Whatever. What she missed was the air seemingly forming a shape, a shape that turned into a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties with spiky brown hair and green eyes that glinted with interest and malicious humour.

"Well, well," he murmured. "How interesting. This revenge thing might be more fun that I first thought." Turning towards the dorms, he blew Taine's retreating figure a mocking kiss. Then he smirked, and let out a cruel laugh. "Pleasant dreams… _Taine_."

Taine stopped once more. She shivered, but not in cold, turning around apprehensively, but there was no one there, as it had been before. She shook her head. She was just being silly, of course there was nothing there. But she could have sworn… she could have sworn, just for a second, that something that whispered her name.

_tbc…_

* * *

A/N: Hmm, wonder who _that_ could be, eh? cue evil laugh

Anyway, I won't be around for a few days, as I'm taking a little break to Bagkok for New Year's. I'll hopefully be able to get a chapter in a few days after I get back.

Happy New Year, guys. And thanks to my reviewers. I'm glad you like the story so far, and especially glad that you guys seem to like Taine.


	3. Chapter 3

**Title**: Conventio Custodis

**Author**: Calex

**Rating**: 15

**Disclaimer**: Again, not mine. Completely not mine. I'm just playing around with the characters, here.

**A/N**: Well, finished this chapter and God am I tired. The longest chapter so far, more background on her relationship with Søren and what had happened, a little…_interaction_ with Kate and Pogue making a really good impression of Brooding!Angel. Hope you guys like it. I'll try to have the next chapter up by tomorrow.

Also, just to let you know, I'm going back to school on the 14th, so updates might be fewer and much slower in coming. Especially since the Internet Tyrants (a.k.a. the techies and various teachers) are ignorant arses and have blocked Also, if any of you guys are BtVS readers, I'm a writer on Twisting the Hellmouth under the same username, and a HP fic I'm currently working on is on Harry Potter Fanfiction Also under the same name. It's something I'm working on, a fic concentrating mainly on OCs set in the Marauder era, a rival pranking group to the Marauders. Seven OCs. Pairings are J/L, S/OC, R/OC. I'm trying to show the Slytherins in a different, less evil-manipulative-bastards-going-to-kill-all-muggles kind of way and more…normal. I'm trying to achieve an effect similar to A Knight's Tale, as in, 70s with a modern twist, and also adding some stuff to it to make Hogwarts seem more like a normal school, basing aspects of it with my own boarding school. Except, you know, magical.

_Chapter 3_

The next day dawned bright and beautiful and for once, she had absolutely no trouble waking up. _Guess that's what sleeping for at least seven hours does for you_, she mused as she stretched in bed after hitting the off button of her alarm clock. She smiled as she thought of the fact that she had an absolutely clear weekend ahead of her, and that grin widened as she remembered the night before. Taine rolled over and buried her head in her pillow to muffle the giggles that erupted at that thought. She felt absolutely giddy with happiness. She was _in_ with the Sons of Ipswich, score!

It wasn't that Taine was a social climber, it didn't matter that they were one of the most popular groups in Spencer, but she couldn't deny the human part of her that piped up that the fact that they were and that they were hot didn't hurt a single bit. And _Pogue_… yeah, she was still confused about that and what it entailed, but she'd vowed to herself last night that she'd forget about all the troubles and just _enjoy_ him, because Pogue was a guy to be enjoyed, that was for sure. She smiled softly as she recalled dancing in Nicky's, then the wild bike ride, and the almost kiss outside of the dorms. However, thinking about that brought back the memory of the pricking feeling of someone watching her. She knew she was probably just imagining things, but she had such a strong feeling of unease over it, and she'd always trusted her intuition. Something was telling her all was not right, but she didn't know what she was supposed to do. It really _did_ seem as though she was just imagining things, and really, who was she going to tell? _What_ was she supposed to say?

'Oh yeah, I thought I felt someone watching me, but when I turned around no one was there. But could something be done about it anyway…'? Not bloody likely, she didn't think. Taine snorted. The most reasonable thing to do about it at the moment was to forget it. It was unlikely that it was anything much, and really, there wasn't anything much she _could_ do. With a sigh, she got out of bed, swinging her legs over the side and shivering slightly in the cool morning air. It was November already and winter was very obviously coming. There was a chill in the air, a slight bite that hadn't been there for summer, or the majority of autumn. Padding naked into the bathroom, she brushed her teeth, washed her face then got dressed for school. Since she was early, for once, she decided to go to the cafeteria and get something to eat. Only a little bit, though, because she hardly ever ate breakfast.

When she got there, she grabbed a glass of milk and a green apple and looked around for a place to sit when she noticed an almost dozing Reid and Tyler sitting at one of the tables. Grinning, she made her way over to them, and watched as Tyler looked up then shot her a warm smile.

"Morning, boys," she greeted, cheerfully as she dropped down next to Reid. Tyler returned her greeting with equal good humour, but Reid just grunted and glared blearily at her.

"Crawford, don't disappoint me now. Don't tell me you're some sick morning person like the baby-man here."

"Hardly," Taine snorted. "You saw how I was, yesterday. I'm just well rested, today, and I've been up for awhile. And have actually developed a sense of humour."

"How novel," Reid muttered, drolly, and Taine poked her tongue out at him. Tyler tried to muffle his laugh with a cough, but it only made him sound like he was choking while laughing. Taine giggled a little herself as she bit into the apple. Mmm, crunchy, just how she liked 'em. Munching greedily into the apple, she nonetheless surveyed the boys curiously before another thing occurred to her, something of very big import. Her gaze sharpened and narrowed on Reid.

"Garwin, my car –"

"Is safe and sound, geez," Reid groaned as he burrowed his head into his folded arms. "What is with you and your trust issues? It's parked in the lot outside. You can go visit your baby later. But could you _please_ just shut up and let me catch some Zs?"

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," she teased, her good humour returned now that she knew her car was fine. Well, knew as much as she could trust Reid, anyway, but she somehow found herself doing so. Pogue _had_ said that Reid was a good driver. Besides, if he _did_ hurt Sebastian, she could deliver the smack down on him later.

"That would imply that he actually _slept_," Tyler said, dryly. Taine's eyebrow rose slowly as she turned to stare at Reid. He just ignored them and attempted to get some sleep, to no avail. Taine poked him in the side, and she had to stifle a laugh as he let out a very unmanly yelp, grasping his side. Well, well, well, how interesting. It seemed as though Reid Garwin had a weakness: he was ticklish. She smiled wickedly. He saw her expression and let his head drop back to his arms with a pitiful whimper.

"Could we do this _after_ I've had some rest?"

"Whatever you say, Garwin," Taine replied, shrugging easily. Like she'd listen to _that_. She was just about to go into full tickle mode when Sarah dropped down beside her, carrying a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice. She looked at the now pouting Taine, undisturbed Reid and a snickering Tyler with a raised eyebrow. Her look clearly stated 'am I missing something'. Taine just shrugged mentally and beamed at the girl.

"Mornin' Sarah," she drawled out in a Southern accent. Sarah's eyebrow just inched up higher and Taine snickered as she snagged Reid's uneaten toast. She made a face. Ew, cold. But she continued eating it, anyway. Peanut butter and jelly, yum.

"What's with the Southern Belle?" Sarah asked, and Taine laughed as she wiped her thumb over the corner of her mouth to get some errant PB&J, then popped it into her mouth.

"Sorry, I had to put on the accent for a drama exam in my old school. It habitually comes back a few times in a month. For absolutely no reason."

"And of course it absolutely has no reason whatsoever with the fact that you like to annoy people, oh no," Reid muttered. Taine raised an eyebrow, and a wicked smile bloomed on her face. Oh he _so_ asked for that one.

"Are you implying that I'm annoying, Garwin?"

"Who's implying anything?" he snorted, as he looked up at her. And yelped as she tackled him and started tickling him unmercifully. "_Jesus, Crawford, get off me_."

"Not until you say 'uncle'," she threatened. Reid was trying to slap at her hands, but he was entirely unsuccessful, seeing as how he was giggling. Yes, giggling. Sure, it was manlier than _her_ giggle, but a giggle was a giggle. She couldn't believe it, she was laughing her own ass off. Sarah just sighed and shook her head, eating her cereal, but a grin tugged at her lips. Tyler was openly laughing at his friends' antics. Reid was wriggling around on the bench when he slipped. He landed on the ground with an audible thud as they stared at him. He propped himself up on an elbow and glared at Taine.

"Ow."

"Oh god, are you okay?" she cried out, jumping off the bench to kneel at his side. He shot her a pissed off look that blatantly read 'what do _you_ think'. She winced as she helped him up and looked him over. "I'm sorry," she said, quietly. "Are you hurt?"

"Only my pride," he admitted, grudgingly. She helped him back on his seat, but he winced when he sat down. "Okay, maybe not _just_ my pride, but mostly that."

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make you fall," she apologised again, sombrely. He cracked a grin at her, looking slightly amused at her downcast and guilt ridden expression.

"I didn't think you did," he said, dryly. He slung a companionable arm around her shoulder. "Lighten up, Crawford, it isn't a big deal." She smiled hesitantly at him, and he tsked. "Seriously, Crawford. Cheer up. You exploited my weakness, made me fall down and hurt my ass on the floor. Big deal." She winced at the words, and he openly laughed. His arm tightened around her to pull her more snugly against his side in a hug. "Man, you're a trip. Mouthy and sassy one minute, and contrite and shy at the next. It's cool, alright? We friends?"

"Yeah," she smiled warmly and shyly at him. "Friends."

"Well, friends," Tyler said, as he checked his watch. "We need to be making a move on or we'll be late for Math." Reid groaned and flicked a torn off piece of crust at his best friend. Taine laughed but got up as they did. She didn't even think anything of the fact that Reid still had his arm around her shoulders; it was just a friendly gesture and weird as it was, she was already so comfortable around him, and the rest. They became friends quickly enough, but they just gelled. Something about the group put her completely at ease, and made her old self come out to the surface as opposed to the Shadow!Taine that she'd been in Spencer so far. She forgot how much she missed true human companionship.

As they went to class, they almost bumped into Kate, who was walking with some girl that they all vaguely recognised. When Kate saw them, her eyes flashed, especially as she saw the comfortable way Reid's arm rested around Taine's shoulders. She looked angry, all of a sudden.

"What, one Son of Ipswich isn't enough for you?" she asked, snidely. Taine actually blanched. Sarah gasped and Reid… Reid was practically vibrating with anger. She had to wrap an arm around his waist to hold him back. Then she let him go, shrugged his arm off her shoulders and stepped up close to Kate, her eyes furious.

"I don't like what you're insinuating," she said, her tone chilly and at its most British. Kate raised a perfectly arched eyebrow, looking haughtily down her nose at Taine. Well, as much as she could, anyway, since Taine was taller than the other girl. It was times like this that she blessed her genes.

"If you think I'm insinuating, then you aren't as smart as you think you are." Taine's eyes got even colder. Oh, she _really_ wasn't liking Kate Tunney, right now. The nerve of the girl! Taine knew she was jealous because of the little show that she and Pogue put on the night before, but what a hypocrite. _Kate_ broke up with Pogue, so it was her fault that they were over. And she really needed to handle her possessiveness, especially since Pogue wasn't hers to be possessive of, anymore.

"We're just friends, Tunney," she said, voice quiet, but filled with absolute condescension. "It's this concept that you don't seem to understand. But I'm sure there's a dictionary lying around somewhere that can fill you in." She turned around to walk into the classroom, but Kate's hand was suddenly on her arm, whirling her around to meet the livid face of the darker girl. Kate glared at her.

"Stay away from Pogue." Taine laughed, a low, rich sound that was equal parts amusement and taunting.

"Oh you're too much, you know that?" She raised an eyebrow at the other girl. "Pogue isn't yours anymore. You have no hold on his life. So I suggest you shove off and mind your own business and let him get on with his life. And I suggest that you get your hand _off_ my arm right now."

"Or you'll do what?" Kate challenged. Taine stepped close to the girl, gripped her wrist with her free hand and squeezed. She felt a chilling smile curve her lips, and she knew the look was scary. Knew it because she'd seen the reaction on other people's faces before, knew it because she saw apprehension on Kate's face as her fingers spasmed on Taine's arm. She leaned in close so that her lips were close to Kate's ear, almost brushing it.

"You don't want to find out, Kate," she whispered softly, as her fingers tightened. "You really don't want to know." With that she yanked the other girl's hand off her arm, dropped it contemptuously and stalked into the classroom. She ignored the others as she flung herself into a chair next to Pogue. Sarah, Tyler and Reid walked in a few moments later, Sarah sliding into a chair next to Caleb and turning around to shoot Taine an apologetic and confused look. Reid grabbed the chair next to Taine and Tyler sat next to him. The two boys looked at her questioningly, and their actions made Pogue raise an eyebrow and turn to her as well.

"I don't want to talk about it," she answered their silent question, tersely. She grabbed her bag and yanked out the necessary equipment before she turned to face the professor. She was still fuming, still so angry. She couldn't believe what Kate was trying to say. She had no right, absolutely _no right_ to suggest what she did about Taine. She knew nothing about her, didn't know her past, her character. Sure, she wasn't the most stiff, unsociable person, and sure she'd been around, done things. But she would never, _never_ – Taine broke off from that train of thought when she heard her pen creaking dangerously. She realised that she had a grip on it that was so tight that her knuckles were white and her pen was on the point of breaking. The boys looked alarmed, and she looked away to hide her face.

She had to stop this; she couldn't let Kate get to her. She sucked in a breath and tried to count to ten, then backwards. She had to pull herself together; she couldn't let the girl stir her up like that. She wouldn't give Kate the pleasure. But the truth was there was another reason to her anger. She was unnerved by the fact that someone who didn't know her at all could be so petty, so spiteful. So deliberately cruel. Sure, she'd gotten grief from people before, but she at least had known them, and they knew her. And another part of that was because in some small way she felt guilty.

She had to face it, she got the fluttery feelings when Reid played around with her, but then again, she got it with all of the boys. Even Tyler, although with Ty it was softer, more affectionate. He was too cute and too sweet for her to get serious belly rumblings about. Besides, she knew she could probably break him, and that had never turned her on. She liked guys who could fight back. And sure, Caleb was Sarah's guy and she would _never_ go there, but it didn't mean she didn't feel blush-y when he was being his usual charming self. He was too hot for her to be unaffected.

Taine liked to flirt, she wouldn't deny that, and she lived in the grey side of life enough, was realistic enough, to know that you could have feelings for more than one person at a time and what mattered was which person you had _more_ feelings about. And just because she was affected by Caleb, Reid and Pogue didn't mean she would try and get with them! Taine liked that feeling you got in a crush: that tightening of the belly, the adrenalin, the agonising 'does he or doesn't he' questioning, the euphoria at some sign of like on the guy's part, even the absolute despair when said guy didn't call or didn't appear to like her back. If there was one thing she was addicted to, it was that, that feeling of having a crush.

She wanted a cigarette after that little showdown, and she found another reason not to like Kate. She'd been trying to quit. Now her fingers itched for the feel of a cigarette. She curled her fingers into her palm, feeling her nails digging into the flesh. She concentrated on it, letting all the broiled emotions be brought to the surface, let her dissatisfaction, her anger, her guilt, her shame, _everything_ be brought forward so her body was tense as a bow. Then she let out a breath and allowed the tension to seep out with it. Her stiff shoulders slumped and her head dropped forward slightly. She almost jumped when she felt Pogue's fingers gentle on her arm.

"You okay?" he whispered, concern in his eyes. She smiled, tiredly and nodded. Then she shrugged helplessly. All the good feeling of the morning was gone, and she just felt so immensely _frustrated_.

"I will be," she assured him in a low tone. Then she turned to see Tyler give her a comforting smile, reaching around Reid to squeeze her hand reassuringly. Reid, though. Reid just looked at her, a long, hard look that she just couldn't read. She felt a bit worried, what if her performance out there made him want to retract his offer of friendship? She suddenly felt that lost, shy little girl she had been rise to the surface, panic clawing at her. She'd gotten so attached already. She couldn't bear the thought that she'd never talk to Reid again, would never joke around with him, trade insults and pithy comments with him, never fight for the last fry with him, never try to tickle him in the mornings, never have his arm resting comfortably on her shoulders again.

Then an even more awful thought occurred to her. What if Sarah, Reid and Tyler told Pogue and Caleb about what happened and they decided they didn't like her anymore? The panic went up twofold and she had to control her breathing before she hyperventilated. Her eyes hadn't left his, grey on blue and she used it to fight for breath. She fought back the insecurity, the paranoia, the panic. She was filled with disgust at herself. She _hated_ the person she'd been, before. She didn't want to go back to that, to her. She'd fought so long to become more confident, to be more comfortable in her own skin, she didn't want to ruin that now. She would not let herself fall because of this. She could live, if the guys were gone, she'd deal. She'd dealt before. She'd make new friends, it wasn't a big deal. But even as she thought about that, she knew it was a lie. They were Grade-A friends, she could already tell, and losing them would be a huge blow. But she knew she _would_ deal. But why would she have to?

Reid must have seen the fleeting emotions in her eyes because he frowned, then he shook his head. A smile finally curved his lips and then he turned back to face the professor. She almost jumped when she felt his arm rest casually on the back of her seat and just like that her day brightened. She saw him looking at her from the corner of his eyes, a smirk lingering on his mouth. His hand came to her shoulder to squeeze reassuringly before dropping once again. It was okay. She grinned and took his example and paid attention to the professor… and completely missed the frown Pogue shot at her and Reid, and specifically at what he'd just witnessed.

* * *

He didn't like it. Pogue gripped his pen, mouth grim, eyes set forward. He didn't like it one little bit. He didn't like the locking of eyes that Taine and Reid had been doing, he didn't like the fact that a smile from Reid had gotten her to relax out of the tense state she had been in. He didn't like the arm that Reid had rested on the back of her chair, and didn't like the fact that he had squeezed her shoulder. In fact, he _really_ didn't like the situation between Reid and Taine. As soon as the thought came, Pogue scowled.

_Why the hell do I even care_? He questioned himself, irritably. _I've established that I'm just… attached to her because of a rebound. It's _way_ too soon after Kate for me to even be _thinking_ about liking someone else. Besides, Reid's single, he's a good guy, despite the shit he gets into and they get along. She's possibly good for him. _He wouldn't think about the fact that the thought of Reid and Taine left a bad taste in his mouth.

He'd just thought… he remembered last night so clearly. Her concern over him, her protectiveness, her kindness. How she'd tried to cheer him up by dancing with him, and what a dance. He'd never felt freer off his bike. Then when seeing Kate had ruined that, she had gotten them out of there. He remembered her worry for her car, her somehow attractive eccentricities. He remembered the feel of her behind him, holding on loosely, then when he'd taken off quickly how she'd clung on, then held on tighter for revenge. And finally, finally he remembered her laugh as her body relaxed into the ride, the pure enjoyment, exhilaration and joy in her eyes when she'd whipped off the helmet later on. And he remembered the feel of her hair between his fingers, like warm, living silk. And the feel of her skin. The way her eyes had gone large and dark, how her lips had parted slightly.

He'd been so close to kissing her, that night. So close. But then she'd woken him up with her 'what are you doing' and he'd backed off. So maybe he'd been reading the signals wrong and she wasn't actually interested in him in _that_ way. Maybe she was just doing it to help him out, as a friend would. His gut clenched as he imagined her doing the same for Reid, imagined Reid seeing her eyes darken from light grey to dark grey. Imagined Reid dancing with her like they had danced together last night. Oh no, he didn't like that, not one bit.

He turned his head subtly to look at her. She _was_ gorgeous. He couldn't understand why no one had noticed her before, why some other guy hadn't snapped her up or something. Then again, he wondered why _he_ hadn't noticed her before, or why Reid hadn't. Of course, he didn't know. Maybe some guy, or even _guys_, had asked her out. Maybe. She was tall, almost 5'11" tall, long, slender but she had curves where it counted. Her dark hair was naturally streaked almost gold by the sun. Her skin was golden tanned, and he knew that it was at least in part natural. She looked like she had some Spanish in her blood or something like that. But it was her eyes that drew him in. They were unusual, a grey so light that it was almost mercurial. They were slightly tilted at the side, and reminded him of a wolf's. It was startling against her complexion.

But it wasn't just her looks that drew him in, although she packed quite a punch. Taine had been lucky in her genes. It was her sarcasm, her tendency towards being a smart-aleck. Her loyalty, her cunning. Her joy in freedom, her ability to let everything go and just enjoy herself. Most of all, it was just how _comfortable_ he felt around her, like he'd known her his whole life. And it was that that worried him the most. He was getting way too attached, too fast. He had to stop it. He'd be friends with her, but he wasn't prepared to be anything more.

The fear that had gripped him when Chase had hurt Kate was still too fresh, the wounds of his break up with her too strong. He didn't want anyone to ever make him feel like that, didn't want to feel that worthless ever again. And more, it was how betrayed he felt by Kate. He had risked his life trying to get to her, fighting Chase, but she'd just tossed him aside like so much garbage. And yeah, while he knew _now_ that it had been stupid, it didn't detract from the fact that he'd done it. Of course, she didn't know, would never know, now. He nearly shuddered when he thought about how close he had been to sharing with her his secret, of breaking the Covenant for her. He was glad, now, that he hadn't.

Pogue glanced surreptitiously at Taine again and wished he hadn't. He scowled when he noticed that Reid's arm was still resting on her chair. Worse off, he was now playing with the ends of her hair. True, Taine seemed distracted by the class and kept hitting his hand irritably, but Reid was still doing it. It was such an intimate thing to do that it set his teeth on edge. Okay, this wasn't a good sign, there was no way he could be jealous of his 'brother', and of _Reid_ of all people. He knew and understood jealousy for Caleb very well, he who was smarter, who was in charge, more power, older. There was nothing about Reid that he had to be jealous of. Except, of course, of the fact that he seemed so close to Taine. Pogue envied Reid in that moment, envied the easy way he had with people, his brash personality that made him always included into a group, whether they realised it (or wanted it) or not.

Taine noticed him looking and turned around. She looked questioningly at him, but he just brushed it aside with a small smile. She returned it before she went back to making notes. He sighed internally and turned to his own work. He needed her out of his head, he needed her out of his system, and those needs contrasted with a greater need to be around her more. Right now, he didn't know what to do but he found himself equally disappointed and glad that they had different classes, next. He wondered idly what had happened to make her so tense before class, though.

* * *

The day went past fairly uneventfully. She'd had fun, as all of her classes contained at least one of her new friends. After Math, Reid had actually congratulated her and told her he'd have to crown her official badass, now. She's just smirked. Reid somehow always knew the perfect thing to say to her, it was scary how alike they were in some ways. It was also kind of scary how close she was getting to Reid. She and Sarah too had bonded over being the only two girls of the group that had adopted them, Caleb she was kind of in awe of, Tyler was, as Reid frequently called him, the baby. She felt great sisterly feelings for Tyler that surpassed her own closeness to her half-brother. But then again, Eric was nearly seven years older than her and lived far away. She was close to him, sure, but she and Ty had that friends thing going on while she and Eric were siblings, full stop.

Pogue, though. Pogue she was confused about. Of all the Sons, he was the one who created the biggest butterflies for her, and also the one her head was screaming frantically to get away from. He was just too much like Søren, and not just in interest and dress-sense. Well, no one could _quite_ be like Søren in dress sense. He was original in that respect. What Søren wore always made him stand out, if being 6'4" didn't make him stand out even more. He was her Adonis; her laughing, blond haired, green eyed, wicked other half. She and Søren had fitted so well, so seamlessly that it had been like some part of her was missing when they broke up. Hell, even now she felt that emptiness where Søren used to fill.

But their similarities… It was in the way they commanded attention, even if they didn't realise it. It was in their charisma, the thing that made everyone _feel_ it when they stepped into a room. It was the utter love they had about riding, about speed, that danger and euphoria and the close brush with death. It was in their eyes, a secret that she longed to find out, a hidden hurt buried deep inside, something that called out to her. It was so seductive, calling her name and bidding that she come. It was maddening. It was in the utter sex that their voices dripped, even when they didn't notice, the low husky timbre of it that ran over her skin like velvet and made her shiver. The mysterious quirk of their lips, that look in their eyes when they were talking to you, yet seeming slightly detached. 'The alpha male', Taine concluded with a sigh. Oh yes, she had a thing for the alpha male, a very big thing. It was just that she was so strong willed herself that she needed the strength pitted against hers. It was what her relationship had been like with Søren, a battle of wills and wit. She'd enjoyed it, craved it, and the sudden lack of it disturbed her, unnerved her, made her feel unfulfilled.

Taine sighed as she dropped down face first on her bed. She needed to get over Søren. As much as she loved him, as good as their relationship was, it was over. Three years of her life she'd been with him. A tumultuous three years with ups and downs, sure, but they were a good three years. And he broke her heart.

It wasn't through any fault of his own, she would be the first to admit it, but she couldn't help but feel anger and sadness, anyway. And betrayal. Søren hadn't taken the news of her leaving very well and while she wanted their relationship to continue, it was Søren who was the voice of reason. Perhaps that was the reason why she felt she couldn't forgive him. Perhaps it was that why she felt so hurt. She who was so practical had wanted the impossible. She had devised of ways for them to be with each other, for them to stay together, going as far as to say that she'd defy her parents to stay in England with him when he had told her, gently but firmly, that she had to go. That he loved her, but he couldn't see her throw away her life for him. And when she'd begged him to stay with her, to let her cling to their relationship at least he had again been the voice of reason. She remembered that night all too well.

"_Stay with me," she begged. Søren was standing by the window, his back to her, looking out at the street and passing cars. His back was stiff, and it hurt her, hurt her so much to see him there and not even look at his face. 'Why isn't he looking at me?' she wondered, wildly. 'Why won't he let me look him?' When he finally answered her, he still had his back turned away._

"_I can't, Taine," he said, voice low and rough with emotion. "You know I can't. As much as I want to, as much as I would _love_ to it's the one thing I can't give to you, sweetheart. I've said that I'd give heaven and earth to you if I could, but this is it. This is earth, this is life. You have to go."_

"_But I don't want to," her voice broke on a sob as she walked to him, wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his back and smelling that scent that was just Søren. "I don't… what am I going to do, Soar? What can I do? I love you, I don't want to…Please, _please_." She fisted his soft, worn old t-shirt in her hands, soaking the material with her tears. He didn't even touch her, didn't move except to tense further. She didn't understand, couldn't understand why he was being like this, acting so cold and sounding like his heart was breaking. _

"_Your parents _have_ to move back to American," he reminded her. "Your family needs you, all of you. Your grandfather's dying. Don't you want to go and see him?"_

"_Of course I do! But it doesn't mean that I want to stay there forever, especially when he's gone. I understand why _they_ have to go, but why me? What do I have to do with it?" she cried out. "Why won't they let me stay here? Why can't I just take a leave of absence from school for a little while and return? It's my last year, why do they have to uproot me now?"_

"_I don't know," he admitted. He finally turned around and wrapped his arms around her. "I don't know, and I can't do anything about it. But you will be fine, love. You'll live. You'll get there and you'll hurt but in the end you'll move on because you're _you_. You're so strong, Taine, give your strength a chance."_

"_I don't want to leave you," she whispered, achingly. He looked at her and she swore that his gorgeous green eyes were wet, but then he closed his eyes and blocked that view from her. When he opened them again, they were dry, painfully dry while hers were so wet._

"_It tears me up inside when I think of losing you," he admitted, sighing. "You've been with me for three glorious years and to have you leave is to have part of me gone with you." He laughed suddenly, bitterly. "Listen to me. God, I sound like an utter prat."_

"_Oh Soar," she said, laughing tearfully. "What are we going to do?" She clung on to him for dear life and he held on to her just as tightly before he let her go. Stepping back, he cupped her face and kissed her fiercely. When he pulled back, his expression was just as fierce. _

"_I love you, Taine, but I can't be with you. Not when you're leaving." He smiled sadly, kissing her forehead. "Think of me fondly. And forgive me." With that, he let her go and walked away. Taine let out an anguished cry as she watched him leave hoping, wishing that he would turn around that her parents would come in with him and shout 'surprise' and tell her it was all an elaborate hoax. But he didn't come back and the soft click of the door closing sounded like a gunshot to her ears. She dropped bonelessly to her knees, not even noticing the tears that fell in a steady stream down her face. _

She never saw him again. He cut himself out of her life so much so that their mutual friends became uncomfortable with their situation. They had all tried to cheer her up, throwing her parties, taking her out, but not he. He never once turned up, even when all their friends did. And she left with a broken heart and in steadily more depressed state. But he was right. She'd moved on, she'd recovered. But she still couldn't find it in her heart to forgive him, even while she knew he was right. She had been ready to give everything up, so ready to hurt her family but he wouldn't hear of it.

"_What do you think this will do to your parents?" he demanded, angrily. "They love you so much, they've worked for you so hard and this is how you're going to repay them? Taine, you can't do this, you'll ruin your whole life."_

"You_ gave up school."_

"_And it's the one thing I've regretted the most, next to losing you. But what I did was necessary. There were other things going on at the time that I couldn't ignore, just as you can't ignore this. You can't live in your little fantasy world, Taine. The real world is out there and it's calling for you. You have this life that's _wonderful_ and you can't just give it all up. Taine, please be reasonable. What are you going to do? What will you do about money? Lord knows _I_ can't support you. You have no family here. And I know your family's richer than Croesus, but do you really think your parents will fund your trip into Fantasy-land?"_

"_How can you be so cruel?" she cried out, whirling around to face him. "I'm doing this for _us_. I'm thinking of you and me, how can you tell me that I have to leave? Don't you love me?"_

"_Don't," he said, dangerously. "Don't you even say that. Don't you dare try to win with that argument. You _know_ I love you, that's why I'm trying to make you see sense."_

"_Maybe it's _you_ that needs to see sense," she retorted. "Søren, I can't function without you. I can't do this. I can't leave you, leave this. I've been running from things my whole life, I've been forced to uproot myself too many times in the past and I am not prepared to do it again."_

"_It's for your own good!" he shouted. "It's for your family. Good god, your grandfather's _dying_ and all you can think about is staying with me?" She looked like she'd been slapped._

"_How dare you," she whispered. "How dare you say that to me."_

"_I just want you to think," he smiled sadly. "I just want what's best for you. Isn't that what people in love are supposed to do?"_

"_Then find me a way to stay here!" she said, angrily. "Help me convince my parents that I'm needed here, that I can't leave _now_. Søren, please. How can you say that this is what's best for me?"_

"_You need to be with your family, Taine," he said, softly. "I'm crazy about you, but what we have? How can it possibly be more important than your own flesh and blood? You're only eighteen."_

"_Flesh and blood?" she raised an eyebrow. Then she raised her hand, showing him the scar on her palm. "What the hell do you call _this_, then? What do you call sharing your blood with me two years ago? What do you call last night?"_

"_A foolish, childish act and sex," he said, bluntly. "They're your _parents_. Your mother and your father. Your grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins and god knows what else." _

"_How can you say that we don't matter?" she cried out. "What were these past three years to you, then? A way to pass time? Have you used me as a buffer against your fan girls?" He looked angry, stalking to her and grabbing her arm._

"_That isn't true and you know it. Stop being childish."_

"_Childish, eh?" Her chin went up. "Well then, I guess I'm just not cut out for playing with the big boys." With that, she stalked out the room._

"_Taine. Taine!" She ignored him and kept on walking._

Thinking about it now, she knew that she _had_ been childish to act in such a way, to treat him as she did but she had been filled with such ire and indignation and fuelled with panic at the thought of losing him. It had seemed like the whole world was against them and to her horror, _he_ seemed to be against them as well. God, but they were dramatic. Thinking about her behaviour now made her wince in embarrassment, but Søren had always been the one who could make her lose her cool. It had always been so and while in the beginning it had unnerved and annoyed her, it had been the one thing that had made her love him so much in the end.

There were other things, though. Now that she was alone and in Spencer, she wondered ironically why her parents had sent her to boarding school if they wanted her to be with family. Søren's argument was completely moot point, now, but it was over. It was done and she found herself acting more like how she used to, found herself relaxing and yes, moving on. But the memory of him still struck her deep. It was the little things, the way the morning sun streaming through the window would light up his blond hair while he was sleeping, highlighting the high cheekbones, the full lips. How his eyes lit up after a ride on his bike and he would laugh that sexy low, free laugh right after. She remembered how he lost himself in his music; how his eyes would close as he gripped the mic, sweat beading above his upper lip from the hot stage lights. How he'd wink and tease at the audience, then would look at her, directly at her, and sing. How he'd sign autographs and flirt, then when she came he would drop everything and sling and arm around her waist and kiss her, still full of exhilaration over the performance.

Søren's life had consisted of four things: his bike, his music, his mother and her. Not necessarily in that order, but that was how it was and she had always known it. She remembered sitting in dark, dingy pubs and bars and watching him in those tenuous first years of his career. A career that had found minor success, but he was never satisfied with minor. He was working so hard to make it into a _great_ success and she knew it would come to him one day, and not just because she was biased. She knew it because it was Søren and his dedication, his drive, his ambition, his talent and his charm would get him through.

Turning around, she picked up her diary from the bedside table and flipped through the pages until she reached it. She took the picture out, her thumb brushing gently over the image. It was taken before she found out she was leaving, after one of his gigs. Richard had taken the picture and it was of the two of them, him in his customary black leather jacket despite the coldness and she wrapped up in a big grey coat. They had their arms around each other, their faces highlighted by the streetlamp they were standing under. They were both looking at each other, laughing, under the light drizzle of a London spring night, and such light heartedness and love jumped out.

She felt a lump come to her throat as she looked at the picture, one of only a few that she kept. She put it down gently before turning to another page where a picture was glued. His twenty-first birthday party. She had dressed up as a school girl as a joke, but had rolled up the skirt of her uniform so that it was indecently short, and unbuttoned her shirt to right between her breasts. Her hair was in pigtails and she had put on a pair of glasses, a lollipop in her mouth. She was sitting on Søren's lap, and he was wearing the gag gift she had given him, which was a white haired wig and a beard. He was leering at her cleavage and she was giving a look of mock surprise, her hand at her mouth in a fake gasp, right at the camera.

The next page was a picture of them last summer. He sitting against a tree in Royal Kensington Gardens, a cigarette between his fingers, and she was sleeping, her head on his lap. His free hand was tangled in her hair and he had a look of such tenderness on his face as he looked down at her that she felt the lump growing bigger, and the threat of tears. She quickly turned the page. Paul's house party. Richard had taken the picture as a gag while they were sleeping; she curled up on Søren's chest on Paul's bed, the duvet covering her up. But as one of her arms was curled over Søren's stomach, it was obvious that she was very much not dressed. One of his arms was around her shoulders; his other hand was on hers on his stomach. It was a picture of such peace and contentment. Paul even had her in his phone under Mrs. Søren, to her everlasting ire. But he'd then laughingly showed her that Søren had been changed to Mrs. Taine. Mrs. They'd all then laughed at her confused expression and said they knew who wore the pants in the relationship. At Søren's bemused expression, Richard and pretended to crack a whip, which had them all going again.

God, she missed them so much. With a sigh, Taine forced herself to close her diary and to put it away in the drawer. It was not the time for reminiscing. It was over, now, and there was nothing she could do about it except move on. She had to, her sanity depended on it. So she went to the bathroom and started to get ready. Reid had invited her to Nicky's again, that night, and she was determined to enjoy herself, and determined to forget her problems if only for just one night. When she left, she didn't notice her GMail page automatically refreshing to add a new email.

_**Søren Gardner**: Taine, don't delete this before you read it. _

_tbc…

* * *

_

Thanks to my reviewers: **Mrs. St. John Allerdyce**, **sunshine-48**, **Babaksmiles**, **LiasonFan2**, **PensiveGal88**, **TheWinterWolf**, **little miss michelle** and **greyhaven11**. Thanks for your encouragement, your kind words about the story and also I'm SO glad you guys like Taine.

And in answer to a question from **PensiveGal88**: I haven't thought about who to use as Taine, it's an ongoing process. But I'm thinking either Isabelli Fontana or Alessandra Ambrosio. If you don't know who they are, they're Victoria's Secret models and just absolutely gorgeous. Hmm Kristin Kreuk could possibly work, as she _is_ exotic looking, but I have a personal bias against her, and Shiri Appleby is _always_ Liz Parker to me, you know? Far too delicate for Taine, methinks. But thanks for the suggestions.

**Babaksmiles**: Oh, the beautiful and wicked Søren… perhaps. We'll have to see but I do adore Søren. I created his character for an original piece of fiction and utterly fell in love with him and his outrageous sense of style. He's nicer in the other story, but bad boy all the way, too. And yes, I agree. There would definitely be HUGE drama if he turned up. And you wanted to know more about what Taine looks like, so I put in more description of her. And more of Søren. grin


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** Conventio Custodis

**Author:** Calex

**Rating:** T

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. The Covenant belongs to whoever it belongs to.

**A/N**: As promised, chapter 4 a little speedier than the last one. And god, you guys make me blush. 24 reviews already, and only on the 3rd chapter, plus within a day of posting chapter three. I adore you guys. Hope I don't disappoint!

To my reviewers, you're all _way_ too good to me. You make writing this worthwhile, let me tell you. Hope you guys like this chapter. I love the reception that this fic is getting. squees And it's nice to see some new names in the reviews list. But to my regular reviewers, thank you also. I'm glad to see that you guys are keeping to this story. Thanks to: **Madame Sorceress, xlexisx, LiasonFan2, greyhaven11, greyhaven8, Sliver of Melody, Lexi, Mrs. St. John Allerdyce, sunshine-48, Hollywood-Violet, w1cked angel, ElizabethxAnne, Pop-tarts and Retrochick. **And to all of you who reviewed after I've written this, thanks!

And if I thought chapter 3 was long, well. This is longer. Enjoy chapter 4, people!

_Chapter 4_

Nicky's was exactly what she needed, she decided as she stepped into the crowded, loud bar. She spotted Reid and Tyler at the pool table and waved. Reid grinned at her and motioned her over. Tyler was concentrating too much on his next shot to notice her, she observed in bemusement. With a grin, she walked over to the two guys as Tyler made his shot. Her eyebrows rose as she saw him sink in two balls into the corner pocket. Very nice.

"Hey, guys," she greeted. Reid just slung an arm around her waist in a light hug as he surveyed the table. Tyler actually jumped, spinning around when he heard her. His grin was wide and infectious as he went over and hugged her.

"Hey!" he said, excitedly. Then, without turning around to face Reid as he walked over to the table, Tyler gripped his shoulder. "Don't even _think_ about messing that up." Reid rolled his eyes, but moved away, muttering grumpily to himself. But Taine caught the mischievous gleam in his eyes and couldn't help but grin herself. She _had_ noted that these guys were a complete trip, hadn't she? Because they were. She perched herself on a stool and watched as Tyler make his next shot and sank it in.

"Where're the others?" she asked, curiously, looking around. Reid gestured towards the foosball tables vaguely, his attention caught on Tyler. When Tyler messed up the next shot, Reid crowed and moved to take his space, surveying the table.

"Caleb and Pogue are playing foosball," Tyler answered her as he went over, taking a sip from his glass. "Sarah's not here, yet." Then he levelled a look at her, cupping her chin to make her look at him. "You okay?" She didn't need to ask him what he was talking about, but she _did_ have to sigh. She'd hoped that they would have forgotten about it by now.

"Yeah," she said, finally. "It just threw me off a little, alright?"

"Threw you off?" Reid called out, chortling. "It looked like you were completely on form, to me." Tyler rolled his eyes and smiled wryly.

"Ignore Reid. It seems like he was bypassed when they installed the sensitivity gene."

"Who needs sensitivity?" Reid said, breezily as he sank in a shot, then went on for another. "Besides, I'm not making this up. You did good, Crawford. Badass to the max for the Brit girl. Speaking of which," he looked up from his shot to give her a mock-leering once over. "Lookin' good. Thought you'd be paler, though. Doesn't England, like, _not_ get any sun or something?" Taine laughed, highly amused and relieved. Trust Reid to get her out of a tough situation with Tyler by being his usual brash, jokey self. She needed him tonight, she realised.

"I'm part Brazilian, doofus," she said, punching him lightly on the shoulder. He raised his eyebrow, completely ignoring her previous action. He looked her over once more, a contemplative look on his face.

"Seriously, Brazilian?"

"Yes, though my parents don't really show it," she admitted with a laugh. "I get it from Mum's side, but the genes obviously completely bypassed her. Grandmother Graison has it, though. She's got even darker skin than I do, and she's so beautiful," she sighed, wistfully. "I hope I look like her when I'm in my sixties."

"Brazilian?" Reid repeated, with the same look on his face. Taine laughed again, pinching him in the side. He yelped, then glared at her, whirling around to glare at Tyler when he burst out laughing. Reid shook his head, crowing in triumph as he sank in his last shot. He turned to smile smugly at a quietly cursing Tyler. "I'd like fries with my burger." Tyler shot Reid a dirty look, but went over to the bar to order, anyway. She shook her head, a grin tugging at her lips.

"You guys play pool to see who'd buy?" she asked, incredulously. Reid shrugged, smirking.

"Nah, it's just icing on the cake. But we usually _do_ bet on it, though."

"Guys," she muttered. Then she looked over as Reid began to put everything away. "How long have you guys been playing? You're good."

"Quite a few years," he admitted. "I have a pool table at home. I learnt when I was twelve."

"Who taught you?" she asked, curiously, and watched in confusion as his face became shuttered, his eyes wintry and hard. His hand flexed, then curled into a fist at his side. His face had become an emotionless mask. "Reid? What did I say?" He shook his head, and she saw life bleeding back into him but she could still see strain in the hard set of his mouth, the cool look in his eyes.

"Nothing. Just remembering things, that's all. Not all good memories," he admitted, with a bitter laugh. "My dad taught me." Now she was _really_ confused. Why would thinking about the fact that his father taught him how to play clam him up like that?

"Do you not get along with your dad or something?" she asked, carefully. Reid shrugged, and even while it was a curt gesture, it was still elegant. She suddenly remembered then that despite the scruffy appearance that Reid came from one of the richest families in Ipswich, and in Spencer.

"You could say that," he said, sardonically. "Though it really doesn't matter now anyway, since he's dead." Taine flinched at his tone, and the words. Oh god, that was one can of worms that she didn't expect to find, let alone open. Her and her big mouth, and after he'd been so good at distracting Tyler and everything. She felt immediately bad and got off the stool to come around Reid. He stiffened in surprise when she wrapped her arms around him in a comforting hug, resting her head on his shoulder. Then he relaxed. He let her hold him while he got his emotions under control, resting his hand on hers and taking in her quiet strength and comfort. That was how Pogue found them.

He felt that instantaneous hit of envy and jealousy stab into him at the sight, and his jaw clenched. But then he saw the lost look still in Reid's eyes and read the scene correctly the second time around, saw it as the comfort that it was meant to be. A little of the envy still lingered, but it was overthrown by the concern he now felt for his friend. He walked towards them quickly.

"Reid, what's wrong? What happened?" The two of them looked up at him, Reid's eyes still so distant and hard and Taine's so filled with compassion. He faltered. There was only one thing that got that look in Reid's eyes, and he should know. All of the Sons knew that look, since they'd seen it so often in the past. But he'd told Taine, at least enough to get her to comfort him? Maybe he was right in his assessment in Math that morning, Taine was good for Reid. This time the thought didn't come with the jealousy.

"Nothin'," Reid said, attempting to get his normal, careless persona back but Pogue knew better. He was really battling to keep his emotions under wraps, there. Careless was Reid's escape mechanism, and also his protective barrier. He showed that face to the world even while he hurt inside. Pogue forgot, sometimes, how strong his friend really was, but then again, all of them had to be strong in some aspect, anyway. "Just remembered some not-so-nice things, that's all." Then he snapped out of it and sent Pogue a smirk. "Did you know that our Golden River here is part Brazilian?" Even while he felt a pang at Reid's casual referral to Taine as theirs, he grinned.

"Brazilian, ay? Interesting genes you have there." Taine blushed hotly under his gaze, burying her face on Reid's shoulder before she stepped back slightly, looking shy. Reid looked incredulously at her, then at Pogue before he threw his hands up in defeat.

"I say even less than that and you pinch me. _He_ says it and you're _blushing_?" Disgust filled his tone. "I'm going to go find Tyler. Maybe it'll make sense to me later."

"Highly doubtful," she called out to his retreating back, giggling despite herself. Pogue shot her his half grin and she smiled back, even while the butterflies in her stomach felt like they were doing the limbo. "Hey, there."

"Hi," he smiled. "You're early. Sarah won't be here until eight."

"I had nothing to do," she admitted, with a shrug. "Plus I was being all maudlin by myself, and figured correctly that I needed some fun to brighten my day. What's your excuse?"

"I have no life?" Pogue laughed, shrugging carelessly. He held out his hand to her, a gesture which took her completely by surprise. It was nice, though, and she beamed at him as she took his hand, her cheeks feeling warm. His hand was large around hers, so male. Callused from use. No pampering for _this_ rich boy, he was all male. His scent drifted to her as they walked through the crowd, that same captivating scent that had made her mouth water the night before. She felt all of her senses draw down to their clasped hands, the brush of his body against hers as they avoided the crowd of milling bodies. She smiled at some people that she knew, nodded to others. He did the same, but to more. A few people stopped him to say 'hey', clapping him on the back. She saw the contemplating look that they shot the both of them, but she just shrugged it off. They were probably wondering what the hell Pogue's hand was doing holding hers when he'd just broken up with Kate, but then again with guys there was a sense of…_dudeness_. Or something like that.

Or maybe the girl had told people about her show down with Kate in the halls, earlier today. She winced internally at that thought and prayed that it wasn't it. It would certainly fuel gossip, especially seeing how close she was getting with that group. They were probably wondering who the hell she was, now. So much for a low profile, but hey, maybe her mother would be happy. She'd always wanted Taine to be popular. Not that she wasn't in her old school, but this… this was beyond that. This was everyone knowing her face, her name, her classes, what she did, kind of popular. It was kind of like a paparazzi following, which was slightly freaksome.

They got to where Caleb was sitting, a drink in front of him. He raised his eyebrow at the sight of Pogue still holding Taine's hand, but he let it pass. He was a good friend, like that, and just smiled at her in welcome. She smiled back, tucking her hair behind her ear and feeling slightly self-conscious. Caleb was the only one of the guys that she wasn't completely comfortable around. He was too distant, too cool. She was too much in awe of him, in some way. It was just the fatherly vibes he gave over the guys, the _de facto _leader of the group. She was still a newbie, and a newbie always fears the head honcho, she supposed.

"Hello, Taine. Reid said you might swing by," he greeted. Pogue sat down, pulling her towards the chair next to him, which she took with a little laugh. "You want a drink?"

"Nah, I'm good at the moment," she said, shrugging. "I'm just soaking up the atmosphere, for now."

"It's something, huh," Caleb agreed, looking over the place, fondly. "Pogue found it, when we were fifteen. We've been here ever since."

"I've always loved having a place I could be a regular to," she confided, with a soft smile. "In London there were a few places, since there's so many places you can go to, but Soar and I always –" she broke off. Her eyes widened as she realised what she had just said. Her hands started trembling. She couldn't believe she just said that, it must have been the fact that she had been thinking about him before she went to Nicky's. Her hands dropped to her lap and twisted, tightening. "- went to a café round the corner from my place. It's quite cool, and we'd gone ever since we first met, so the waiters had taken to knowing our names and our usual drinks."

"It _is_ nice," Caleb smiled, though he looked puzzled by both her mentioning of 'Soar' and her large pause. "Who's Soar? One of your friends back in London?"

"Not quite," she answered, quietly. "Søren was my boyfriend." Caleb actually winced when he heard that, and the tone it was delivered in.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think."

"It's alright," she smiled, but it was strained. Her hands were twisting in her lap. "You didn't know. I don't usually mention him, but today's been…a trip down memory lane."

"We all have those, sometimes," he said and though his words were gentle and meant to be comforting, Caleb's eyes had a faraway look to them. She stared. Did _all_ of them have some sort of dark, painful secrets or something? Pogue she could tell from the start, he was the kind of guy that you'd be disappointed if he didn't have a deep, dark secret. Reid, she'd guessed and what happened earlier only made her believe it to be more real. She hadn't figured it for Tyler or Caleb, and though Caleb was showing signs of it now, she still didn't know about Tyler. But maybe that was why they were so close, despite them being so different. Sure, there were groups within the group: Pogue and Caleb, Reid with Tyler, but that was small stuff. There was always such a sense of closeness when the guys were together and not bitching or fighting with each other, like how Reid had stood up for Pogue last night.

Damn, but she wished she hadn't brought it up, now. Things were awkward between them, one that she didn't know how to break, and she bit her lip. Caleb still seemed slightly lost in thought and Pogue… Pogue sighed, before shaking his head. He turned to Taine with a smile and a quirk of the lips.

"So, anything else in your blood but Brazilian?" Pogue asked, casually. The question caught Caleb's notice and he looked at her in surprise.

"You're Brazilian?" _Brilliant, Pogue_, she thought, wryly._ Use me to get Caleb out of _his_ maudlin mood, why don't you. What about _mine

"Part," she admitted. "On mum's side. I think my great Grandmother or something was Brazilian. Father's got Irish blood in him, and he looks the part. Dark hair, pale skin, blue eyes. The only sign of being Brazilian that mum has is that she tans more easily than most, and it's a nice kind of tan. Eric looks like his mum, mostly. I mean, he's pale and has got dark hair like Father, but he's got his mum's green eyes. Apparently he's gorgeous, not that I would really notice. Because that would be ick."

"Eric?" Caleb asked, sounding amused. She smiled, and it was a smile of complete exasperation and affection that only a person with a sibling could have. She thought fondly of her older half-brother, and realised that she missed him. She hoped that he would visit her, some time. She might have to nag him into it, to see if he agreed. Besides, he had promised to do so, after her breakup with Søren, she was just cashing him in on it now.

"My half brother, from Father's first marriage. He's seven years older than I am. We're quite close, though I haven't seen him in a long while. He's been in America while we were in England for the past two years, although this is probably as good a time as any for me to see more of him," she admitted with a laugh. "He's doing a post-grad degree in Harvard. Something to do with Business," she told Caleb, who suddenly looked interested. "I don't know what, that kind of thing doesn't really make sense to me."

"Harvard, huh? So he's close by."

"Yeah, which is why I'm planning on blackmailing him to come up and visit some time." She chatted a while more about her family with Caleb, noticing in a way that Pogue was just sitting back and smiling as he stole Caleb's drink. She turned at one point to smile at him and he smiled back, looking mysterious and hot as usual, and she bit back a sigh before she turned back to Caleb. She really wished she knew what was going on through his head.

* * *

The day off from her hadn't helped, Pogue realised as he watched her chatting animatedly to Caleb about family and anecdotes about what she used to get up to with her brother. It wasn't until he saw her again that he realised that he missed her, and when she showed up hanging with Reid and Tyler, Pogue had felt something in himself simultaneously relaxing and tensing up. She had that effect on him, the ability to confuse him, but then again he figured that was a female trait. Girls always knew how to confuse guys, it was just this thing. But he watched her, he couldn't help himself. Couldn't stop himself from taking in the way her eyes sparkled when she laughed, how her hands moved gracefully when she spoke animatedly. The absent-minded way she pushed her hair behind her ear when it fell forward.

God, he was getting so caught up in her, and he knew that it wasn't a good thing. No, it wasn't good at all and yet he couldn't help himself. There was something about her that continually fascinated him. She had seemed so lost when she had mentioned Søren, her ex. So sad. It was too close to the surface. She had been in Spencer, what, two months? So she must've broken up with him before that yet he could see that she was still caught up in her ex. And there he was, two days after breaking up with Kate and he felt no remorse, no guilt in looking at Taine, in taking his fill just staring at her. He could still feel the way she had pressed against his back, how strong her arms were around his waist as she held on to him during the bike ride. Her eyes fascinated him. _Lots_ of things about her fascinated him and most of all, it was her history and her relationship with Søren. It was probably masochistic of him, but he wanted to know more, wanted to know how close they were and how much she had loved the other guy.

It was his competitive streak coming out, the possessiveness that Kate had accused him of. He knew he had a problem, but it had always been so. Pogue Parry didn't share, he was very bad at sharing especially what was his. But that inability to share also saw a fierce loyalty in what he considered to be his: his family, his friends… his loves. Taine was older than him, he knew as much. She'd said that she had turned eighteen before she left England, but that had never bothered him, didn't bother her, he hoped. Because if there was something that he was starting to realise, it was the fact that he wanted to be with her, and all of the Sons knew that what he wanted he was very good at getting. He fought too hard for it not to be so.

When Reid and Tyler showed up, he was irritated to see that Reid immediately dropped down to the seat on the other side of Taine, even more irritated to see her turn around and smile dazzlingly at the blond before she snatched at a chip, chewing triumphantly as he mock-glared at her. He didn't know what to make of their relationship, and it was bothering him. One thing that he'd always held to was that he wouldn't mess with his brothers' interests, he wouldn't go for a girl that another of his friends was interested in. It was a code of honour that all of them held to (mostly). But there was something about Taine that made him want to fight, and that didn't sit too well with him.

"Stop that."

"What, it's not like _you_ bought these," she said, taunting Reid as she snatched another fry. She turned to grin at Tyler. "Thanks for the food, Ty." Tyler, for his part, was shaking his head and laughing at the two. He saw the three doing that far too much. Taine stuck her tongue out at Reid before she took a bite of the fry. He faked diving for her and she shrieked as she moved backwards to get away from him. Except that kind of made her fall back against Pogue and when he said fall back, it meant she was all of spread against him. There was a moment of stillness, then the chair tipped. Both of them were dumped unceremoniously on the ground. He found himself freezing again, because she was sprawled on top of him. As in, she was sort of straddling him, her arms on either side of his head. They stared at each other in stupefaction before Reid's cat calls and wolf whistles penetrated the haze that had been his mind. Then she started blushing and scrambled off of him, apologising profusely. He got up slowly, glaring at Reid.

"Oooh," Reid said, eyebrows waggling. He was about to say something when a look at Taine's face shut him up. He felt a smirk spread across his face and he looked smugly at Reid. He had noted it too and had shut up, watching her warily. There was a too sweet smile on her face as she approached Reid. He got up, slowly, still watching her warily. Then he made a run for it. Pogue watched in admiration as Taine moved after him, his head tilted to the side. She was fast, really fast. And graceful, like a predator going after her prey. He didn't know what made him think of that, but it was true, looking at Taine going after Reid was like watching someone go on a hunt. While Reid looked like an idiot trying to get away, Taine moved subtly, though quickly. He doubted that he would know she was going after the blond if he hadn't seen her move after him. Caleb's chuckle broke through his reverie, and he shot his best friend a questioning look. Caleb was just shaking his head, and grinning. Caleb, grinning. It was a long time since he'd seen his friend do that.

"They're like a couple of kids," he noted, with a chuckle. "Friends from the sandpit. I can almost imagine her in pigtails and skirts but with grazed knees and knuckles. She's good for him."

"They act like me and my brother used to," Tyler agreed, grinning. "It's been a long time since Reid's treated any girl as more than just another skirt to chase, you know?"

And just like that, Pogue felt like the biggest idiot in the world. Friends from the sandpit? Like Tyler and his brother? He'd been so caught up in his jealousy that he hadn't considered the other viable option, so caught up in his _own_ feelings for her that he hadn't realised that Reid might not feel the same way. He treated her like a friend, a really _good_ friend, but still just friends. He felt so stupid, suddenly, and at the same time he also felt a weight drop off of him. All his worry was for nothing, apparently, and he suddenly felt good. Now that Tyler and Caleb had pointed it out all the things that had set his teeth on edge when it came to Reid and Taine made much more sense, in a non-jealous freak kind of way.

But then something else occurred to him and he felt his stomach twisting up again. She didn't think of him in the same terms… did she? Usually, he'd be able to brush that fear aside, he would know, but she confused him. Perhaps the reason why she found it so easy to be friends with Reid was because she didn't _want_ to have a romantic relationship with anyone, which made sense especially since she was still hurt from breaking up with someone else. But he couldn't have that. Sure, he wanted her to think of him as a friend, but not _just_ a friend because his feelings for her were definitely not of the 'just friends' variety.

Then his eye caught movement at the end of Nicky's. It was Aaron and his goons, and they were smiling unpleasantly and heading towards the door, the very door that Reid and Taine had gone through. He felt uneasy all of a sudden, and every instinct in him screamed that he needed to go outside _right now_. He looked at Tyler and Caleb, and saw that they had similarly tensed. Without vocal agreement, all three got up and went after Aaron's group.

Pogue felt his gut tighten as he saw what was going on outside. They were just in time. Reid had pushed Taine behind him, fists cocked and looking angry, but Aaron and his goons still outnumbered them. There were five of them, and Taine and Reid were only two. He saw Aaron and Reid exchange words, before Reid's face got inexplicably angry and he got in Aaron's face. That was when two of Aaron's goons grabbed him and Aaron himself let his fist fly. Taine screamed at that and before he realised what was happening, he felt himself running. He didn't have to look behind him to know that Caleb and Tyler were fast at his heels but what _did_ surprise him was the sight of Taine jumping on Aaron and yanking his hair in both fists, hard.

Aaron yelled, spinning around to dislodge her, but she jumped away nimbly, absorbing the impact of the fall before rolling back to her feet. She rolled her neck, before cracking her fingers. She had a look that he could only call 'deadly' on her face as she stared down Aaron. He felt fear in him as he quickened his pace. The other two of Aaron's goons went after her, but she dropped, sweeping her leg and tripping one up. While she was down, she lashed out with a foot, kicking the second in the stomach, making him fall backwards, breathless. In the same seamless motion, she got back to her feet, just as Aaron charged her. Pogue yelled out her name as he was sure that Aaron was going to knock her to the ground, but Taine used his own momentum to throw him over her shoulder. He felt admiration battle with fear as he watched her fight. She was good, really good. Martial arts mixed with street fighting made her movements graceful, smooth, controlled and just a bit ruthless. She threw a mean right hook, he noticed, flooring the guy that had gotten up after she tripped him.

Reid, Reid was holding on when he saw that Taine was alright. He would get a black eye, and blood was trickling from the corner of his mouth where his lip split against his teeth. He was ruthlessly fighting against the two, but he had the bigger guys. One guy had succeeded in holding him while the other one punched him the gut, doubling him up just as Pogue got there. He gripped the guy's shoulder, spun him around and let his fist fly, fierce satisfaction travelling in him as he felt the nose break and heard the other guy's howl of pain. Reid scraped his foot hard against the guy's shin, making him drop him before he spun around and punched his face. Tyler was facing off one of Taine's guys, leaving Caleb with Aaron. When Aaron and his goons realised that they were five on five with the fantastic addition of Taine's fighting skill, they got scared looks on their faces. Their pride was on the line, though, so they didn't back down.

Taine's guy rushed for her, but she delivered a beauty of a roundhouse kick that made Pogue momentarily lose concentration with his opponent, which gave the guy an opportunity to punch him in the gut. He was winded immediately, and the guy went for his face but then he stopped. He had a look of shocked pain before he crumpled to the ground, holding himself and moaning. That was when he realised that Taine had kicked him in the balls from behind. He winced, all the guys did as they looked at the fallen guy on the ground, rolling around and holding himself. Taine looked gloriously angry, and actually spat on him.

"I hope that prevents you from populating this world with more jerks like you," she snapped. Then she went to Aaron, all in his face, got between him and Caleb. Her eyes were burning in rage. "You want that we should fight, then step on up you braindead, manwhoring son of a bitch. You think you're so strong and brave, ganging up five to two, where one of the two was a helpless little girl? You want a piece of me now, you little ass? Come and get me. I will be _more_ than happy to deliver your butt back to you. Or maybe I should just castrate you and deliver your pieces to your two girlfriends. You don't mess with me and mine, you got that?" When Aaron made a move, she grabbed his fist, startling everyone. Her face got cold. "I've a black belt in Karate, and I'm proficient in jujitsu, idiot. I'm more than able with a gun. I took up fencing, where I specialised in sabre. You think you can take me? Huh?" Her hand started squeezing his fist, though they could see the tension where she had to fight against his brute strength. "I can break a stack of wooden planks in half, what makes you think I can't beat you?"

"You threatened Kate."

"Well you can go tell the bitch to get off my case and stop threatening me, then _maybe_ I won't do it again," she countered, glaring. Then she twisted his arm behind his back, spinning him around and holding it just high enough that he whimpered. Taine moved closer to his ear, but her anger-filled whisper could be heard by all of them, her voice shaking with her emotions. "I can break you arm like this. I know all the nerves on your body to press to freeze you and I will leave you in the ally with your friends to stay until somebody finds you: unable to speak, unable to move, unable to do anything but just lie there until somebody finds you, if they're able to.

"Now, I don't want to do that, wouldn't do to make a bad impression on new friends and new school and all, but I _will_ if you push me, got it?" When he didn't answer but to whimper, she pressed his arm a little more roughly and he let out a pained cry. "Got it?"

"Y.yes."

"Now are you going to leave us alone, or do I have to hunt you down again?"

"Leave. Alone."

"Good boy," she murmured, then shoved him away from her. He landed in an ungainly heap on the ground, staring at her with wide eyes, rubbing his arm pathetically. She looked at him contemptuously. "You sicken me, Abbot," she said, quietly, but her voice was filled with venom. "It was guys like you that made my father make me take self-defence classes. It is guys like you that make girls afraid to go around alone at night. Guys like you are a waste of space, you take up valuable air. I don't like you. You need to learn that you need more than money and looks to get you through life or you _will_ have the biggest shock of your life when you get into the real world." When he just stared at her, her look turned pitying. "Get up. You look pathetic." With that, she whirled around and went for her car. With a last group at the group, Pogue shot them a grin and a cheery wave, before jogging after Taine. After a look at each other, Caleb, Tyler and Reid shrugged, but went after them.

God, she was fast, he thought as she watched her march away. He could practically see the steam rising out of her ears. Her hands were fisted at her sides, but even though anger fuelled her, even though she was tall, he was taller. He caught up to her, though admittedly with a little trouble. He didn't say anything, just walked with her to the car but when they got there, Taine leaned against it, sighing, her eyes closed. He took the time to look at her face. She'd get some nice bruises in the morning, he noted. There was a cut on her cheekbone from one of the idiots' ring. He felt anger pouring out from him and had to fight the urge to go back there and kick some more ass, but just at that moment her eyes slid open and she shot him a look, a look that said very blatantly that she knew exactly _what_ he was thinking of doing. He shot her a look that was pure innocence, but the scepticism on her face told him she didn't buy it for a second.

"So…" he said, after a moment of silence. "Black belt in karate, huh?" She snorted at that, and started laughing. He smiled, but he was serious. He wanted to know. He wanted to know everything. She intrigued him so much, this girl. She looked like a model, she moved like a dancer, had a fighter's soul. She had impressed him back there, how she had dispatched the guys. Her movements had been economical and except for kicking the one guy in the balls, they were designed to get them down but not to hurt them overly. If he wanted to be honest, her threat to Aaron had scared him a little, but watching her walk away and try to control her anger told him. She had been bluffing, and she was hoping that Aaron's pride would prevent him from calling her bluff. But to what extent the bluff was, he didn't know.

"I would be, if I ever actually went through it all," she admitted, wryly. At his surprised look, she felt a grin tug at her mouth. "Father _did_ make me take self-defence lessons. One of the other ambassadors' daughter got kidnapped for ransom. She was raped. My father didn't want that to happen to me, so he made sure that I knew how to defend myself. My trainer was an old martial arts master, but he incorporated other fighting techniques. I never went for "proper" training though, so while I'm on the level of a black belt, I never actually got the belts. And I suppose saying I was _proficient_ at jujitsu might've been stretching it a bit," she said, as an after thought. "I just started this summer." He laughed out loud. She shot him a quick grin, and he saw the tension leave her. She had been worried about them, he realised in a moment of insight that had completely left him these past few days. Worried about what they might think of her after her performance.

"Reid's probably going to demand to know how you did everything, you know," he said, dryly. "He'll want you to teach him." He laughed again at her horrified look, and a reluctant grin was pulled out of her. "So, guns? Fencing?"

"You live in England, have and old English family, then you end up going shooting in the country," she said, with a sigh. "That wasn't a joke. I can shoot a rifle. But again, after the kidnapping, father wanted me prepared in all ways so after I hit sixteen, he made me get lessons. I have a licence and everything, though it wasn't a full one until after I turned eighteen. I mean, it's not a licence that says I can carry weapons or whatever, but I _can_ actually buy guns if I want to. I still go to the shooting range. It keeps me in practice," she answered, at his look. "Plus, it relieves tension. Shooting at a piece of paper is better than doing something more physical. Though I have to admit that I've missed being in a fight," she sighed. "I need to find another trainer, here. I have too much pent-up aggression."

"_You_ have pent up aggression?" he teased, but was confused as he saw her look away, eyes downcast. A frown was on her face. He cupped her chin in his hand, forcing her to look at him. "Hey," he said, softly. "What's wrong?"

"I _do_have problems, Pogue," she said, softly. "You don't know how much. It… It's difficult for me, sometimes. You have no idea how difficult it was for me to walk away from that fight, especially with all the tension I've been feeling lately. You have no idea how much it scares me, what I wanted to do to those guys." She started shaking, and he didn't even think. He wrapped his arms around her and let her cling to him, feeling her tremors. His hands smoothed over her hair, down her back, and he murmured soothingly into her ear. She wasn't crying, he noted, she was just in shock.

"Don't worry about it. _All_ of us had trouble walking away from Aaron and his jerks. It wasn't just you. We all want to do something especially vile to him, not just you."

"You don't understand. It's so hard," she whispered, achingly. "Because the worst thing is… the thing that makes it so difficult is that I can do it. I _know_ that I can do it. It's this constant struggle inside of me, every time I finish a tournament or anything like that, even in practice. After I bring my opponent down, it's always so hard for me to walk away. It's like a voice inside of me, telling me what else I can do, _how_ I can do it, coaxing me to do it. It's so seductive." He stilled against her, in his motions of comforting her. Her words had hit a little too close to comfort, it was almost like she was describing what he felt with the Power. Hell, what _all_ of them felt about the Power. The constant struggle, the fine line. The seduction.

"It's part of you, forever, and there's nothing that you can do about it except not let it control your life," he said, softly. She looked up at him, surprised, but he was no longer paying attention to her. His eyes were locked on his brothers, who had reached them, and had heard her heartfelt confession. They too looked surprised, shocked by how close she had come to what they felt about their Powers. Slowly, they all approached her. Reid was first, wrapping his arms around her from the back. Tyler came after, and even Caleb and the five of them stood in a group hug, with a sense of empathy, though for different reasons. _She's not so different from us_, Pogue thought, looking down at her. He pressed his lips to her forehead, gently. _She's living with her own problems, her own struggle._

"How can you know that?" she asked, so quietly that he almost didn't hear her. "How can you know me so well, know how I feel so well? No one's understood but Sensei, not really. Not even my parents. I'm their golden wild child, they never understood my affinity for fighting, never understood why I went for it further than basic self defence, why I threw myself into it, and in fencing. How can you know that so immediately when it took _me_ so long to understand, when I still have trouble dealing with it, somedays?"

Pogue felt like cursing. Caleb's eyes were filled with warning as he looked up to meet his gaze. _Be careful_, they said._ Don't reveal too much. Don't break the Covenant. _Pogue sighed, running his hand over her hair once more. But it was Reid, surprisingly, that answered her, the one that saved his ass from a tongue lashing from Caleb, and from further questions from Taine.

"Because all of us have something in ourselves that we try to hide," he said, quietly. "And with some that something is harder to resist, darker. It calls to us, constantly. Because he, hell _I_, know to a certain extent what you mean because it exists in us as well."

"Your pride," she murmured, putting her hand on Reid's, gently. Then her eyes turned to Pogue. "Your need for freedom and your possessiveness. Your heart," she addressed to Tyler. Then she turned to Caleb, frowning. "I never know, for you. I couldn't even tell, but back in Nicky's, it was in the way you said… you understand, but it's more than… it's your need to protect. Your burdens. And with that, with all of you, it's more than that. More than everything. You all have something that you hide, it has to be, it's why you're all so close, even though you're different. It's why you all act like family. I'm not going to pry," she assured Caleb quietly, when she felt all of them stiffen. "I don't have a right. If you can, if you _want_, you'll tell me yourself, some time. If not, then I'll mind my own business. But thank you. Thank you for understanding." She squeezed Reid's hands again, then hugged Pogue before a shift in her stance made them all back away from the hug, finally.

She made a good point, Pogue thought, as he watched her struggle for control. She made a hell of a good point. It was more than the Power, more than the seduction of over using, more than the addiction. It was all tied with the various things that she noted about them, why some fell and others didn't. Reid's struggle with his pride _was_ what pushed him to use, most. And Tyler's heart was what kept him from doing so, yet it was also his biggest weakness. His need for freedom and his possessiveness… well. It was what had gotten him in trouble with Chase, wasn't it? His possessiveness over Kate. And Caleb, he stopped himself because he was their leader, because he took the burden of being their so-called "role model". His lips quirked. She understood them better than she thought. Caleb realised it too, because he looked at her in consideration, in a new light. He smiled at her faintly.

"You're very astute."

"I've been taught to always trust my instincts," she replied, shrugging. "They haven't failed me, yet." Then she sighed, looking around before pulling a face. "I don't know about you, but I don't feel like going back into Nicky's like this." They all laughed at that, nodding in agreement. They were all filthy, dusty, covered in cuts and bruises. Her hand went up to touch her cheekbone and she winced. "It's going to be hell to explain this tomorrow," she muttered. "I'm _so_ glad I'm a girl."

"Why?" Reid asked, curiously. She grinned at him.

"Duh. Concealer. You guys are going to have to walk around with obvious black eyes and the not. I'm going for the slightly more subtle approach. As much fun as it was to destroy Aaron's pride, I'm not looking forward to school gossip if they see me with bruises. After all, people have already noted that I've been hanging around you guys. They might think that there's trouble in paradise and that we've been involved in an all out fight with each other."

"You forget," Caleb put in, and there was a smirk on his face. "That Aaron's going to be there as well. Similarly bruised and beaten up."

"Oh the joys," she muttered. Then she looked at the guys with a grin. "What say you? Bring this party back to the dorms. We can kidnap Sarah from her work and hang out."

"Where?" Reid already looked as though it was set, to his irritation. "My and Tyler's room is a tip."

"I have a private," she said. At their incredulous looks, she was suddenly defensive. "What? I like my privacy, and father made sure I had it. I'm not the only one!"

"Whatever you say, Crawford," Reid laughed, slinging his arm around her shoulders. "I call dibs on riding in the Jag!"

"C'mon, Pogue, I'll give you a ride," Tyler said, with a grin. "You can leave your bike here and we'll pick it up tomorrow."

"How am I going to get back?" he asked, his eyebrow raised and Reid grinned.

"You can room with Taine. I'm sure she won't mind." Then he yelped as she pinched his arm. Hard. "Ow, Taine, goddamit!"

"Watch it," she said, severely. He scowled and rubbed his sore arm, muttering about harpy females and their love of violence. She just smirked at him, unrepentant. Then she turned to Pogue. "You _can_ crash in my room if you like, I have a futon, just in case Eric _did_ decide to drop in."

"We can share," Tyler offered. "Caleb, you too."

"It's alright, guys," Caleb smiled, though Pogue could see the slight sense of disappointment in his eyes. "I have to get back later, anyway. My mom will be worried. But sure, party in the dorms sounds great." That decided, Reid whooped and grabbed her keys from her pocket, familiarly, and slid into the driver's side of the car. Taine rolled her eyes, open the driver's side and grabbed him by the ear. He yelped.

"You ride shotgun," she said, severely. "My car, I drive."

"I drove yesterday," Reid whined, but the look on her face read 'don't push me' very clearly. He settled into the passenger side with a sulk, but it didn't last long. He ran his hands over the leather upholstery of the car. Taine shot him a smile before she got in.

"See you guys in a few," she said, cheerfully, before she slid in, shutting the door behind her. She revved the engine, and he heard the low purr of it, before she tore out. Reid's whoop and her laughter could be heard as the car blended into the night, the taillights bright. With a shake of his head, Tyler went to his Hummer, Pogue behind him. Caleb into his Mustang. In a few moments, the two cars got out of the lot and towards the dorms.

* * *

Taine and Reid were the first to arrive. At Reid's goading, she had driven fast, and put the soft top of the convertible down. She loved the adrenaline, hearing the scream of the engine before she changed gears. He noted that she drove like a race car driver, and she'd just smirked. The good thing about Ipswich was that the roads were long and empty, unlike the busy streets of London. She hadn't had much of a chance to drive her baby in any satisfying speed, there. But fast speed meant that they were the first to arrive, so there they were. She unlocked her door and flipped the switch as she shrugged off her jacket.

"Nice," Reid commented as he looked around. "Feminine, but not over bearingly so." His eyebrow rose at the poster she had on her wall, though. There were elegant prints of paintings: Botticelli's _Primavera, _Renoir's _Umbrellas_, he recognised a Van Gogh, and several others. But along with that, there were pictures, large framed pictures a mix of black and white and coloured of people but mostly of landscapes, both urban and otherwise. One picture caught his eye especially. It was a large, formal portrait a distinguished, handsome man and an elegantly beautiful woman seated, Taine and a tall, well built, handsome male behind them. It looked fairly recent, and the backdrop of the picture was an elegant drawing room, the likes of which he was used to seeing both in his home and in the homes of his friends.

"This your family?" he asked, jerking his thumb at the picture. She nodded distractedly as she moved around the room to clean up. The books on her desk cleared up, any dirty clothes on the floor was put into the clothes basket, shoes put on the shoe rack, her bed was made… She stood up, looked around while running her fingers through her hair, then shrugged. It was as good as it would get. So she moved over to Reid and looked at the picture he was gesturing to, smiling warmly.

"Yeah. My father, Reginald Crawford. You can probably make out which one he is. The cigar on the table isn't an affectation, by the way. If it was up to mum, it wouldn't appear, but father always needs to have one at hand. He smokes in between takes. Mum's Danielle Crawford nèe Graison. Mum's some kind of heiress, but I'm not sure of what. I know some Graisons are in the south. Might be something to do with oil. Or not. Grandfather Graison _does_ own Graison Tech Inc. Well, he was the one who founded it. The guy next to me is my step brother, Eric. He's seven years older than me, and he's doing his masters in Harvard."

"You guys look close," he murmured, looking at the picture closely. "Even though you call your dad 'father' all the time, you guys look close."

"We are," she admitted, grinning. "I love them. And I know it might sound a bit stiff, but father's from a very formal and conservative family back in England. I suppose it's rubbed off on me, these last five years. I expect I'll start calling him 'dad' soon enough." The idea of it, though, made her giggle. She could just imagine Reginald Crawford's face at being called 'dad'. But he would get a kick out of it. Grandfather Crawford, though, wouldn't. Reid shrugged, then started walking around. While he did that, she gave another cursory look around the room and saw her laptop. The screensaver showed some pictures of the anime that she watched, her guilty pleasure, along with some of her friends. She might as well check her email before anything started.

Going over, she moved her mouse to get the original page and saw that at the top was GMail. Then she froze. In the hour and a half she had been gone, she'd gotten four emails: Richard, Paul, Sam and… _Søren_? Her hand started trembling. She couldn't… she… why was he _emailing_ her? It was the first she would have heard from him since the break up, the very first time. And why were the rest of the boys emailing her as well? It was the whole band. It made a lump appear in her throat, but also for a nasty hint of suspicion. It couldn't be that, but… The subjects.

**_Rich Valentine_**_: Hola chica!_

**_Paul Maddock:_**_ I'm flying on a jetplane, baby!_

**_Sam Elliot:_**_ Salutations from the Brits to the half-Colonial_

**_Søren Gardner:_**_ Taine, don't delete this before you read it_.

She had a bad feeling about all of this, a _really_ bad feeling. Reid walked up behind her to look at her computer screen, noting her tensed back and her sheet white face. When he saw the four new emails (all from guys), his eyebrows rose. Still, he didn't see what was so upsetting. Maybe she was afraid of feeling homesick. But the subject on the email from the one named Søren Gardner (what kind of name was Søren?), though, was a little odd. Don't delete this? Sounded like spam.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Open them."

"What?" she sounded dazed. He smirked, putting his hand over hers on the mouse and moving for the one from Søren.

"It's this thing you do with emails. You know, you see it, you click on it, you read it. Maybe you reply to it," he said, easily. Then he clicked. He saw her suck in a breath and her whole body went rigid. Her eyes were screwed shut. What the hell? What kind of reaction was that? It looked like she was waiting for it to explode or something, like the email would contain a bomb, which was just ridiculous. Shrugging, he went on to read because let's face it, his morals didn't extend as far as to prevent him from reading his friends' mail.

_Taine,_

_If you're reading this, I suppose I have to be thankful. After what I've done to you, after how I've treated you, I should be lucky if you didn't delete it right away. You're probably still angry, still hurt, and don't lie. I know you too well for that. We've been together for three years, after all. Look at me. I speak in the present still, when really I should have said: we _were_ together for three years. It's hard, sometimes, to remember that, to remember that you and I aren't you and I anymore but separate beings. That Taine Crawford and Søren Gardner shall no longer be Mrs. Søren and Mrs. Taine, but just…whatever we are. For so long who I am revolved around you so much that after it ended, I found myself dangling. I didn't know, anymore. Important things became impossible and even the trivial became difficult. I didn't even know how to order pizza anymore, because usually, we'd order half-and-half, but you always ended up eating my side and I had to finish yours. _

_I've lost the taste for Mint Chocolate Chip ice-cream, instead, I eat strawberry because it reminds me of you. I smoke Luckies, because they were the brand that you preferred. I've tried quitting, but the nicotine patches made me irritable. I suppose I don't have as much will power as you, either. I found myself watching a movie that I was unable to enjoy, because you had so thoroughly converted me. I found myself turning to deliver some kind of smart, sarcastic quip with you about the plot, but the seat next to me is either empty or filled with a stranger. _

_I miss you, my love. I missed you especially today when I turned around in bed and realised that your scent is almost gone from my pillow. I missed you yesterday, when Richard was making a Star Wars joke that no one laughed at, because it was only you and he who did and he, hell _we_, forgot that. I missed you when I went clubbing with the boys, because you would have dragged us over to places as diverse as Fabric, or KOKO, or The Gardening Club. I missed you when I was in Leicester Square and passed by a comedy club, because we missed the chance of seeing stand up comedy together. I missed you when I saw that Russell Peters is coming to London next week, but you won't be here to watch him with me. _

_But I'm not doing this to cause you more hurt, cause you more pain. It was cruel of me to have left the way I did, to have not spoken to you at all since then. Cruel of me, but in a way, I did it because I thought it was what was right. I did it because it was the only way I knew how to protect both you and myself. I knew that if I were to continue to be with you, you would finally sway me. You have no idea how close I was, how very near to changing my mind for you, to help you stage a coup and overthrow your parents. I was ready to offer you any help, and I knew that I _couldn't_. I knew that I had to make you go. I love you, Taine. Even now, even three months down the road that hasn't changed. It has not gone to I _loved_ you, but it remains, and will remain for some time, _I love you

_The Wasteland had a big break, a _really_ big break. We got a record deal with Mercury, and we have a concert in a few places in America. We're going to New York, but the guys said you're going to school in Massachusetts? We're going to Boston. I want to see you, we _all_ want to see you. Don't lock me out, Taine. Please. I asked you once to find it in your heart to forgive me. I hope you have, or at least I hope that you'll consent to be my friend. I need to see you. _

_Forever,_

_Søren._

_PS. We'll be in Boston on the 4th of December, and New York on the 7th. _

Reid only had the warning of a strangled sound from Taine before he was suddenly covered in sobbing female. His eyes were a little wide as he stared at the still open email. Whoa. That was just…whoa. So much for a spam message, it seemed like the guy knew Taine a little too well. It was just so intense, the way he wrote about her. He talked about love. The big one, he could tell. He seemed really hung up on her and yet, yet looking at Taine, hearing her crying her heart out and making his shirt wet, Reid could tell that it wasn't just one way. Taine really loved this guy, like a whole lot. It explained the look that she got in her eyes, sometimes, that lost and helpless look. But then, it seemed like the guy was a little lost and helpless as well. He was sort of confused, he had _never _felt that way about a girl before, not in the way Søren seemed to care for Taine. Hell, he doubted that even Caleb or Pogue had ever felt that way about a person. But then, neither of them had ever had a girlfriend for three years. Three years. That was like prison, to Reid. He loved women, too much.

But at that moment, the only woman he was concerned about was Taine, and _that_ in itself was a startling thing. Usually, a woman started crying and he bailed. He just didn't know what to do, and he figured he'd be no help at all. And most of all, it made him damned uncomfortable. But he didn't want to leave Taine, didn't want to leave her alone at any rate. Not that he was suddenly changed by her or anything, he was still so uncomfortable. He didn't really know what to do but she didn't seem to need him to say anything, just to hold her and let her cry her heart out. So he did that. Besides, Taine was the first girl he could honestly call a friend, it disturbed him that she was like that. And most of all, it upset him that she was upset. The feelings confused him, so he pushed them aside. He was good at that. He just lifted her and carried her to her bed, where he sat down. Then he pulled her onto his lap, where she curled up, burying her face in his neck.

He just held her, just ran his hands over her back and making what he thought were soothing noises until sobs trickled down to crying and that trickled down to sniffling until she was silent. Finally. He pulled away slightly and looked at her, concern making his eyes darker. He tipped her chin up to meet his gaze and she sighed, but complied with it.

"You want to tell me what's going on?" And with another sigh, she did. Not noticing, at that time, the three bodies that had just opened her door, looking at the two curled up on her bed. And most of all, not noticing that shape, the very same one of the first night after Nicky's, the shape that held the slightest hint of a face grinning maliciously. The long lost love of her life, eh? Interesting. Pogue's jealousy, almost like a living thing floating towards him, was even more so. Oh this was going to be interesting, this was going to be _very_ interesting. He might be able to use that Søren boy to his own advantage. It gave him about a month to plan, a month to make up the perfect crime. A month would be enough, he'd had less than that, last time. He would exact revenge, and it would be ever so sweet. With a cold laugh that disappeared in the wind, so did he. And through the window, into Taine's room, she told her story slowly, haltingly, and Pogue watched her with a glimmer of pain and determination to win in his eyes.

_tbc… _

_

* * *

_

Mwahahahah. God, was this chapter difficult to write. I nearly stopped myself so many times, you know, since it was dragging on a bit, but I thought it would be too evil if I didn't get into Søren's email in this chapter. You want to know what my original chapter ending was going to be?

Going over, she moved her mouse to get the original page and saw that at the top was GMail. Then she froze. In the hour and a half she had been gone, she'd gotten four emails: Richard, Paul, Sam and… _Søren_?

Now don't you love me? grin Although to be fair, it would have ended better if it did end there. And yet, as it ended here, plot actually moves on a bit. It's a two edge sword.

Now, addressing the reviewers:

**Madame Sorceress:** All of us needs to be a bit juvenile sometimes.grin Don't worry, I had to stop myself from going all "Pogue and Taine, sitting on a tree. K.I.S.S.I.N.G.". The voice also sounds suspiciously like Reid, in my head.

**xlexisx:** Thank you. I'm glad that you think that the emotions written don't seem too OTT or something. And yeah, Taine is no doormat, she's been that once in her life and she's not going back to that.

**LiasonFan2:** blush Thank you. You have no idea what it means to me that you said that. A writer can never hear that her writing is good often enough. I'm glad you like the break up scene, because I was afraid it might've seemed a bit too mushy and OTT. I still think it is, but I'm glad you like it, anyway. Taine's strong, she's not going to back down. And she's too no-nonsense about some things not to do it. She's just a bit ruthless, is Taine, as you'd have seen from this chapter. She tells you to your face if you challenge her, what your mistakes are. I like that about her. grin Thanks. I'm glad you think that I got into their heads well.

**greyhaven11: **More than the movie? Cool. Thanks so much! I'm glad you like them in this story. The problem with movies, I've always thought, is that you can't get into people's psyches, which is always the fun part about writing. At least, that's what I think.

**greyhaven8:** Glad you think that it's original, so far! (I have a feeling it's not going to stay that way for long, oh dear). There _is_ going to be supernatural stuff later, but I will try to keep it as unclichéd as possible. And glad that you think Pogue is awesome, he's one of my favourite characters in the movie.

**Sliver of Melody:** Thanks!

**Lexi:** Hey, _I'm_ not going to complain that you called my story freakin' awesome. I'm glad you think so. grin Glad that you're going out of your way to read something that isn't to your usual taste.

**Mrs. St. John Allerdyce:** Thanks!

**sunshine-48:** bursts out laughing Oh, I like you. Thanks, I'm glad you're liking the story. I couldn't help myself with the email from Søren, especially after I wrote all of their background stuff. I couldn't help myself. It came unexpectedly. Søren's trying to wriggle himself into a bigger part in this story than I first intended for him. You know, I never liked Kate in the movie. She was too easily distracted by Chase from Pogue. And yes, I adore Tyler and Reid. Tyler's such a little cutie.

**Hollywood-Violet:** Thank you! I was starting to think I was the only one who didn't like Kate in the movie, but yay, someone else agrees with me! Nah, Tyler's too sweet for her. But the Reid thing, well. You'd have seen from this chapter. Not quite what Pogue thought.

**w1cked angel:** Thank you.

**ElizabethxAnne:** Thanks. blush Glad you like it. I always loved Pogue, I couldn't help but want to give him someone that was better than Kate. Er, I _hope_ Taine is better than Kate, in any case. And I'm glad how you like the characters' thoughts etc. I had a lot of fun going into their psyches. Pogue's so paranoid. And if you liked the Taine/Kate fight, I hope you liked this one as well.


	5. Notice

15/01/2007

The situation as it is now:

The internet tyrants have still left blocked, so I can't go on the site when I'm in school. And as I'm going back to school today, we have major problems when it comes to updating stories. Now, I have ADORED the reception that you guys have given me for Conventio Custodis, and I'm sorry I couldn't manage to get a chapter in before I came back to England, so you'll have to wait for the 26th of this month before I can update that story, and after that, I won't be able to update until February. So what I'm trying to say is... updates for that story is going to be slow. VERY slow in coming. I'm sorry for the delay, guys, but I can't help it. If you guys want, I'll be trying to find somewhere else I can update the story in and post it there, then when I can go on I'll post everything up. If you want that, email me. My email address is aida(dot)zahar(at)gmail(dot)com.

I can't promise even that, though, since my laptop's recently died on me. But I'll do what I can, I promise you guys that. So again, thanks for your support, and I'm glad you guys like the story. I'll post ASAP. hugs

Calex


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